Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose
by Duke Statian
Summary: An ex-Wall Garrison soldier takes up life as a wealthy baron's estate guard and gifted a very different way to slay a titan. When the Colossal Titan attacks the city of Shiganshina, he must protect the baron's daughter at all costs. (And a bit of HangeXOC). This story will return in April 2016.
1. Chapter 1

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose**

 **The Year is 845, one day before the fall of Wall Maria.**

"Morning, Morgan" The noble's daughter said from the door frame. Rays of light lit up the dim guards house as she flung open the shutters.

"It's seven already?" Morgan asked with a yawn.

"Nope, it's six, father is extra paranoid today" the girl said and sat down on the end of the bed.

" _You_ and your father" Morgan said as he shook his head then got out of bed. He was about 17 years old and around 5'10 with brown hair and stone grey eyes, his fringe ended in a sharp point to the left.

"He has his usual suspicions, it's always 'Today is the day the titans break the walls'" the girl joked and mimed a titan. The noble's daughter was also 17 years old, had long brown hair and brown eyes and she was wearing a white summer dress befitting that of a rich family "But not on your watch!"

"It's the Wall Garrison's job to keep the titans out, I merely patrol your estate" Morgan said as he got dressed for work "Do I need to wear the armor again today?"

" _Extra paranoid"_ the girl repeated.

Morgan sighed "Alright, I assume I don't get breakfast till after the morning patrol then?"

"Correct" the girl beamed with a smile.

[#]

Morgan St Clare was a security guard for the Masons, a rich and powerful family who's head was a Baron under the king. Their estate resided halfway between wall Maria and wall Rose. Morgan originally spent four years in the Wall Garrison and attained the rank of Lieutenant before leaving to join a private security firm. The company gave him a job and the family provided his equipment. Because the estate resided on a large plane of land with no high features and sparse trees, the Baron had a different method other than 3DMG for fighting titans despite none being spotted within the walls, ever.

"In general I'd prefer my own 3DMG over this, have I ever told you that, Quinn?" Morgan said to the girl as she watched him assembling his gear.

"Every morning before eight" Quinn Mason replied.

A suit of medieval knights armor stood on its stand in the middle of the steelworks. On its chest bore the symbol of the Wall Garrison of which Morgan was still technically affiliated with. It's sallet helm was adorned with the crest as well and a rich crimson plume ran from the crown to the back of it. This however was no ordinary suit of armor, it had two gas canisters fastened to its back and pipes running down the legs to the feet, the gas could be ejected to slow the descent of the user or make greater leaps and jumps, it was nowhere near as versatile as 3DMG but had a distinct advantage of being more effective on flat land. The armor did however provide some protection against the smaller titans, mainly being difficult to consume for the smaller ones lacked the strength to crush the plate steel, of course it would provide no protection against anything larger than a 10m class.

However its weapon was the most impressive, a long handled war hammer with a gas trigger specially designed for a small gunpowder blasting cap to be attached to the hammer head. When swung and when contact was made, it would explode outwards and destroy a localized area of the target. While it was harder to actually kill a titan with it, it was far more effective at crippling them by literally removing its limbs.

Maneuverability was the biggest problem which the armor lacked completely, this was key in defeating a titan therefore a horse came standard along with it. Riding past a titan and removing its legs was quite effective, when crippled a second strike to the back of the neck would kill them since they would be low to the ground.

A crimson cape also draped over the shoulders for good measure.

"Ok, could you get that buckle there for me please?" Morgan asked and pointed to the canister strap. Quinn fastened it and Morgan was then ready for the morning patrol.

Morgan walked out of the steelworks and over to the stables where he led his horse out. He mounted it and took the reigns. Quinn nodded to Morgan and smiled then walked away towards her family mansion.

"Alright, Bellerphon, lets go" Morgan said and began his patrol. Medieval plate armor had become redundant many years go, not because of titans but because of the cost it would take to equip an army to defend them against musket rounds and canons shells, they decided that avoiding the projectiles was better than spending the money. Morgan's specially designed suit was perhaps the only functional and effective suit of armor within the walls, probably because no one had the Baron's imagination. Morgan had not however used it against a titan, back when he was in the Wall Garrison he had slain five titans in total over four years using 3DMG.

Morgan trotted around the estate on horse back and watched the peasant workers go about their normal business of tending the fields and what not, Morgan was an upper-middle class man so had more benefits than they did. He passed over the little stone bridge and the great walls came into view and beyond that was the Shiganshina district who were mainly there to be eaten first if the titans came, or so the Baron told him.

[#]

"Morning St Clare" The Baron nodded to Morgan as he trotted back to the stables after his patrol.

"Good morning, Sir" Morgan said and got off his horse then bowed slightly.

"You can take a break now, your next patrol is at 1pm" The Baron said and carried on his way. Morgan thought that he had come to tell him in person but he figured he was just in the area at the right time, besides, he would have had a messenger do it for him. The Baron went to talk to his coach driver who was also at the stables.

"Yes, Milord" Morgan said and took his helmet off then returned his horse to its stables before making his way to the mansion. He at least had the privilege of some access to the families house such as meal times and the like, the Baron was fond of his most trusted guard, the others merely got swords and patrolled on foot.

Morgan entered the mansion and went to the dining room where the chef had prepared him breakfast despite being 10:30am. Morgan lived on the estate and so almost never left it, his family was long since gone and he wasn't sure where.

A courier walked into the room and handed Morgan a letter from the Baroness "What's this?" Morgan asked simply. Except for Quinn, he didn't talk all that much to others and was often quite stern despite his young age.

"The Baroness wants you to take a high priority package to Shiganshina district" the courier said "She only trusts you with it" He handed Morgan a small box to be delivered to a renowned doctor within the city.

"Very well, I assume I must skip my routine patrols, yes?" Morgan said.

"Indeed, you are relieved of duty for the day if you leave immediately" the courier informed Morgan.

Morgan turned back to his food and finished it quickly, patrolling the grounds was boring and pretty much pointless as a titan could be spotted miles away "Sounds like a good deal to me".

Morgan left to the stables again and replaced his sallet helm then mounted Bellerophon, the Baron's coach disappeared from sight after it left the front gates, Morgan was curious as to where he was going. His horse neighed and stamped the ground before Morgan whipped the reigns and sped off over the stone bridge and out of the estate in the direction of the outer wall city. The parcel he was delivering was placed securely in his messenger bag which was slung over his shoulder. His Blast Hammer was clipped to his belt and so was his spare replaceable explosive blasting caps, he could carry about twenty with him at one time. After every strike the cap had to be replaced, it was a dangerous weapon as shrapnel was an issue but it was however one of the reasons why he wore armor.

[#]

Morgan reached Shiganshina and the guards opened the gates for him. The city was alive and bustling with its inhabitants who went about their business as normal.

"Who's that?" someone asked from the side of the road. A heavy cart went by and Morgan maneuvered his horse around it.

"No idea, whys he wearing armor? No one uses that anymore" another person answered.

Morgan rode past them "It means I'm harder to eat".

The two men looked at each other in surprise "He has a point" one said "Must be a royal courier or somthin'".

"Perhaps" Morgan said and left them behind. He carried on his way towards the outer gate where his delivery address was supposed to be, he had not been to this city in a long time but things remained the same as always, so did everything within the walls.

The survey corps returned from their mission outside the walls and it caught Morgan's attention so he stopped for a moment to watch them go by. The renowned Captain Levi passed with a brooding look on his face as usual, Morgan had met him perhaps once when he was still in the Wall Garrison. The soldiers looked weary and bloodied, especially the corpses. A woman cried out and the convoy stopped, she sobbed and screamed and people began to talk in hushed tones about the effectiveness of the scouts.

Morgan left it behind and carried on to his destination. Thirty minutes later he reached Dr Jaeger's house and knocked on the door and a young Asian girl answered, she led him in and Dr Jaeger sat at his table drinking coffee.

"Good afternoon" Jaeger nodded to the man in armor "I didn't realize it warranted such heavy security, good timing though as I'm leaving soon"

"I'm never late" Morgan said and handed the small package to the doctor "Good day" Morgan then turned to the door to leave, he glanced at the Asian girl again before walking out.

[#]

Morgan stopped at a local inn later that day to rest, for wearing armor was tiring, especially in the summer heat.

"I didn't realize we still had knights" the inn keeper joked.

"I'm not really a knight, more private security to be honest" Morgan said and sipped his beer.

"Drinking on the job, eh?"

"Not really, I'm off for the rest of the day now my job is done".

"Fair enough" the inn keeper said and went back to his business.

Morgan finished his beer then left the inn behind him and tended to his horse. He replaced his sallet helm and got onto the main road towards the city gate, he would return to the estate in good time. Before he could cross the border, the world around him shook and his horse stumbled. People fell and chimneys and roof tiles crashed down as an explosion tore through the city.

People rushed towards the front gate to see what was the matter "An explosion?" Someone yelled.

Morgan pulled the reigns and went to investigate. He went at a fast trot and stopped at the center of the city where he could get a good view. Citizens swarmed around him to get a look as well.

A giant red, skinless hand gripped the wall and crushed the edge. The giant's head then rose over the wall and peered at the inhabitants inside while venting steam from its body.

"A titan?" Morgan whispered under his helm. People cried out around him and a second explosion rung out. The gate was kicked in by the colossal titan and debris was flung out and crushed humans and buildings alike.

"Titans!" Someone screamed and the crowd was in panic. Bellerophon reared up but Morgan steadied him.

"I need to get back to the estate and warn the Baron" Morgan said and turned to see a 7m class titan advance upon the crowd. Without thinking Morgan flicked the reigns and charged towards it to stop it from consuming the innocent people before him.

Morgan drew his hammer and attached a blasting cap to the head, he rode by and struck its leg which was blasted off in a small but high pitched explosion, the titan dropped its prey and fell to the ground with a thud.

"That worked better than expected" Morgan thought as he turned the hammer over in his hands then fastened another cap to the head. He trotted over to the enraged titan who had fallen headfirst into a shop front then smashed down at the nape of the neck to kill it "Perhaps I was wrong about this gear".

Morgan turned around to see the people around him cheering and clapping "Everyone, get out of the city! There's no time for thanks" Morgan whipped the chains again and sped off towards the gate that led back to the estate. In the distance he could see one of the barges slowly grinding along the wire that led it through the water. Titans of all shapes and sizes swept over the city and consumed whoever they found without remorse.

"The old man was right, today is the day" Morgan reminisced with a scowl "Today of all days".

Bellerophon stopped suddenly and jolted Morgan, up ahead towards the gate a strange armored titan was charging full pelt. A canon shell crashed into the ground beside him and his horse reared up in panic but he calmed him down with a pat. The shrapnel had barely missed them and he couldn't afford to lose his steed now, running was not an option.

The titan demolished the gate and began to steam ferociously till nothing was left. Smaller titans wandered through and began eating as they pleased.

"Wall Maria's been breached" Morgan said to himself and regained his composure. "Hiyah!" Morgan took off like a thunder bolt intent on speeding past the titans to get back to the estate.

Morgan crossed the ruined gate, he could see many smaller titans that had entered and they wondered around aimlessly until they could find a new target. Morgan sped past them and left the titans in the dust.

[#]

Morgan trotted up to the gate of the estate and looked over his shoulder, smoke was rising far to the south from when the colossal titan had ruined the wall. The guard stationed there opened the gates for him and he sped up towards the mansion.

Quinn watched him from the window of her bedroom "He's in a hurry, that's odd".

Morgan flung open the great doors "Baron Mason?!" He went upstairs and ran into Quinn.

"Morgan, what happened?" Quinn asked, her voice shook slightly.

"Titans, titans have destroyed the gate of Shiganshina" Morgan gasped as he was out of breath.

"W-what do you mean?" Quinn asked and her voice gave way.

"Exactly as it sounds, where's you're father?" Morgan asked urgently.

"He left on a business trip about an hour ago, three O'clock even".

"Where?"

"Stohess".

"Typical, alright pack your things we're going" Morgan said and turned to go back downstairs "What of your mother?"

"She went too, didn't they tell you?" Quinn asked and tugged his cape.

"It might have been in the letter she gave me, now go, get your things, we leave in twenty minutes" Morgan said and left the mansion and jogged towards to the guard house, his armor clunked with every step.

Morgan began packing his things "Alright, clothes, service record and ID, tooth brush, money, crate of blasting caps. No room for spare gas canisters on the horse but they're the same as the standard issue 3DMG ones so I can still get a hold of them" He muttered to himself then hauled his bag and the crate to the stables.

Quinn ran up with her bags, she had an extra back of food "Ready?"

"I was ready first" Morgan teased with a smile despite the situation they were in. He mounted his horse then held his hand out to help Quinn climb on, she held him around the waist "Grab my helmet would you?"

Quinn reached over to the wooden post that it was sat on and grabbed it for him. Morgan put it on and the plume swept over her face and tickled her nose.

Morgan trotted over to the stone bridge and stopped. The thumping steps of titans could be heard coming from the south. A red mist followed them and it sounded like a hurricane crashing through a forest.

"What the hell?" Morgan cursed to see a wave of titans approach.

The source of the red mist appeared, beside the normal rabble of dull and deformed titans was something Morgan could never have imagined. The titan was about 15m tall and almost completely enveloped in red mist, its ominous eyes and wicked toothed grin could be seen from the swirling cloud of red steam and its forearms and fists were visible and humanlike but its footsteps could not be heard. Instead it appeared to propel itself across the ground by blasting the red steam at such pressure that it could essentially levitate but the sound it made was like a storm turned up to maximum. Sparks of electricity began whipping off and striking objects around it, the speed of the cloud was great enough to generate a current.

The area suddenly began to get very, very hot and Morgan backed off and decided to take the back gate and travel to Trost instead.

The peasant workers screamed and ran but the Crimson Steam Titan swept them up in its monstrous hands dozens at a time and swallowed them whole and they disappeared into the steam.

"Oh my god" Quinn gasped "That steam, it's blood, it's boiling the people it consumes to fuel it's cloud!" She almost wretched at the sight.

The aberrant titan swiped a guard post building aside like it was nothing and ate the man inside to fuel its furious storm. The bolts of electricity struck off and stunned people as they fled which made them easy pickings for the ravenous titan, harkening back to his time in the Wall Garrison, they would have called it a Gluttonous Aberrant.

Morgan charged off towards the gate for there was nothing he could do, perhaps he could fight the normal titans but this aberrant looked far beyond him and his job was to protect the Baron's family, not the peasants.

The pair left the estate behind and made their way towards the district of Trost, it was a sad day for humanity indeed.


	2. Attack on Innocence

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose**

Hundreds to thousands of men, women and children lined the streets of Trost after the Colossal Titan's attack on Shiganshina, it had displaced the entire population of Wall Maria in as little as two days but many did not make it.

"Look at these poor souls" Quinn said as she and Morgan trotted through the city of Trost on horse back "I want to help them".

"There's nothing we can do to help them, Quinn. You should be glad that we can afford to stay here, many of these people will be sleeping rough tonight" Morgan explained.

"But isn't there anything we can do?" Quinn whined.

"No, if we were to help them then we would get swarmed by those trying to take advantage of our generosity, we keep our heads down. No one is looking out for us therefore we shall not look out for anyone else, understand?" Morgan said sternly. In the event of a titan attack, the Baron put Morgan in charge of his daughter and to become her guardian for he would have to go to the capital to help deal with the problem politically.

A beggar reached out and attempted to snatch something from the horses saddle, probably a money pouch and Morgan turned his head slightly to catch him in the act, a swift metal clad kick to the face sent the man down with a bloodied nose and Morgan scowled at him.

"See, this is a cruel world, Quinn, you win through being the strongest and _only_ the strongest" Morgan said and flicked the reigns to move through the crowd quicker.

Quinn did not approve but she knew he was right, she watched helplessly as the Military Police handed out rationed food to the poor and starving, one of the officers hauled the thief away into the back alley. Knowing the corrupt organization well, Morgan figured the man would be beaten and what money he had stolen before being thrown out of the city for titan food.

In a few days, the life they knew had been destroyed. Morgan and Quinn were more fortunate than most for they were fairly rich, at least the Baron was and the Baron paid Morgan well and he had many months of pay saved up and kept securely on his belt.

"Do you know where your father will be?" Morgan asked.

"Stohess probably but I'm not sure because of the titan attack, he may be looking for me" Quinn replied.

"Then we travel to Stohess first" Morgan looked up, it was getting dark. "Alright, we'll find an inn and stay the night".

[#]

It was 10PM and very dark outside. Morgan had paid the inn keeper extra to allow him to use the stables that was built next to the inn as a metal works in order to service his armor so he was busy tinkering. Quinn was sitting on the bench outside the inn humming to herself as it was still a bit too early to sleep. The night air was warm and muggy in the middle of summer and Quinn liked the atmosphere around her despite the days events, it was one part of solitude she could get no matter where in the world she was.

"Hey little lady, what's ya name?" A gruff voice called out and multiple footsteps followed scuffing feet.

Quinn looked up to see a gang of rough men who must have been living in the slums of Shiganshina when it fell. They had had a hard day so she knew why they were here.

"Please leave" Quinn said sternly but her voice faltered slightly and they picked it up.

"We're jus' here to talk don' worry" the leader said and sat down next to her, Quinn shuffled away to the right.

"Please leave" Quinn repeated and looked straight ahead. The man placed his grubby hand on her leg and it left a mark on her white dress.

Quinn began to panic and she desperately looked for a way out. She jumped up suddenly to run for the inn door but the man grabbed her by the arm and she let out a scream.

"C'mon lady I just wanna..."

The man's nose exploded in blood and he howled in pain then his friends turned around to see Morgan standing by the entrance of the stables. His right gauntlet was still on along with his right pauldron, gas canister pack and boots, he had been in the process of taking his armor off. His sallet helm clattered away after being thrown, now stained with filthy blood from where it had struck. The force of the helm striking him had stunned the man and he spluttered like a beast.

"Oi, what the 'ell?" One of the men bellowed like an animal. They advanced on Morgan like a pack of wolves. Quinn shook free and ran inside the inn.

The first man ran at Morgan with his fists raised but was easily downed by a swift back hand from a gauntlet as he sidestepped to the left to avoid him.

The second man charged but Morgan planted his metal boot in his face and held him steady then activated his gas pack, the gas travelled from the canisters to the boot and out of the escape nozzle which blinded the man and he fell back in agony as the freezing gas clawed at his eyes. The blast of gas spun Morgan around on one foot like a ballerina which set him up for a perfect round house kick to the throat of the third man who dared to fight. Needless to say, he fell as well.

"Well, that's one way to use my jump system" Morgan said with a hint of surprise then advanced on the groups leader.

[#]

Twenty minutes later and Morgan and Quinn were back to sitting on the bench outside the inn, they watched the military police escort the ruffians away.

"T-thanks by the way" Quinn said quietly.

"It's alright, it's my job after all" Morgan smiled back, he was cleaning the blood off of his sallet helmet.

"I didn't realize you were _that_ good" Quinn said as she nibbled on some bread.

"I was in the military for four years remember, and I'm a lieutenant" Morgan replied.

Quinn acknowledged the statement "So what happens when we find my father?"

"I may leave being a security officer and re-join the Wall Garrison, now that the titans have returned we all must fight, one way or another" Morgan informed her.

"I'll be sad if you go".

"So will I".

"Really sad".

Morgan turned to Quinn and looked her in the eyes "Then come with me".

[#]

The next day, Morgan and Quinn were back on their horse and travelling to Stohess to find the Baron. After that he would find one of the Captain's of the Survey Corps, Hange Zoe and inform her about the Crimson Steam Titan. After his mission was complete he would then return to the Wall Garrison.

It took two days to get from Trost to Stohess and it was a long and boring ride. Morgan had no choice but to wear his armor the entire route because there was nowhere to store it and he knew he would need it in the future. The front gates parted for them and they entered a rich and bountiful city unaffected by the events outside their walls, refugees did not make it this far for the gates were bared to them due to the threat of overcrowding. Such was the caste system, a world run by wealth.

"This city is so rich!" Quinn beamed "Why didn't father decide to live here?"

"Probably because he preferred a life in the countryside" Morgan suggested.

They trotted along the main road towards the fort at the center of the city, it was the most likely place to find the Baron.

Another twenty minutes later and they clopped into the fort's courtyard then hailed the guards.

"Lieutenant Morgan St Clare of the Wall Garrison" Morgan said to the guards and saluted. They returned the salute and checked his ID.

"Tell me, is Baron Mason here?" Quinn asked as Morgan demounted his horse.

"Indeed ma'am, he's in a meeting with the head of the Military Police of Stohess" One guard answered "I would wait until they have finished before trying to speak with him".

"I'm his daughter" Quinn said and folded her arms in a kind of stroppy mood. Morgan gave her his hand to help her off of Bellerophon so she dropped the act quickly.

"Right, this way milady".

[#]

The guard opened the door to the meeting room within the fort and all the officers and politicians present turned their heads to see Morgan clunk in in his suit of armor, closely followed by Quinn.

"Quinn!" Baron Mason gasped from the head of the table and got up suddenly to greet his daughter "I was so worried that you didn't make it in time" He took her in his arms and hugged her tight.

"It's ok daddy, I'm safe" Quinn said and hugged him back. They let go and the baron turned to Morgan and took his hand in thanks.

"I knew I could count on you, Morgan" The Baron said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just doing my job, sir" Morgan replied and removed his helmet.

[#]

"Morgan, father says that I'm to stay with him in Stohess for now, will I ever see you again?" Quinn said as Morgan prepared his horse to leave.

"Of course, I'll be back at some point or another, don't worry. Besides I think the world inside the walls is stabilizing now after the attack" Morgan said and comforted her.

Quinn sighed and looked up at the sky "You've only been here three days and you're leaving already?"

"I'm going to rejoin the Wall garrison but first I need to report that aberrant titan to someone I know in the survey corps" Morgan explained.

"But you will come back, soon?" Quinn pressed.

"I promise" Morgan said and took the stirrups of his horse then mounted it and left the city of Stohess behind him.

[#]

 **One week later, Survey Corps HQ.  
**

"Captain Levi, there's someone at the gates" A survey corps member informed him as Levi was cleaning his room.

"So, let him in" Levi replied as coldly as ever without turning to face the woman.

"Yes sir" She replied and scurried off to the main gates of the castle.

Morgan St Clare trotted through the front gates of the Survey Corps base and was met by a squad of soldiers on patrol. He showed them his badge and they led him in.

Hange Zoe was in her office when Morgan knocked "Come in" Zoe trilled.

"Afternoon, captain" Morgan said and removed his helmet.

Zoe turned on her chair to face him "Do I know you, Mr knight?"

"Yes, we met back when I was in the Wall Garrison, my name is Lieutenant Morgan St Clare" Morgan said "And I'm not a knight I'm a security guard".

"Morgan... Morgan, oh yeah I remember you now" Zoe beamed "Why do you wear armor, it's a bit dated isn't it?"

"Where I'm from, 3DMG isn't very effective, I'll show you how it works after we discuss what I'm here for" Morgan said and entered the room.

"Have a seat" Zoe said and gestured to her table "How old are you?"

"17"

"That's surprising, I thought you'd be older by now" Zoe said and put her chin on her hands as she leaned against the table "So, what do you want to tell me?"

"Well, when the Colossal Titan attacked Shiganshina and let the titans invade, I came across an aberrant much like the Armored Titan and it attacked the estate that I guard" Morgan began, Zoe listened intently as her hobby was to study and learn about the titans.

"It was muscular, at least its arms were for it was almost completely covered by a swirling red cloud of boiling blood steam" Zoe looked taken aback by the horrific detail.

"It propelled itself on this cloud of steam by blasting it out at super high pressures so I assume it has no legs, but what I found the most disturbing is that in order to fuel its cloud, it must consume more people than an average titan, it then boils them inside its stomach cavity and the resultant steam is ejected from its body to create the cloud that envelopes it" Morgan explained "It's also really hot".

Zoe readjusted her glasses "Can you draw me a picture of it? What about stats?"

"Sure" Morgan replied as Zoe handed him a pencil and paper.

After he was finished drawing and noting down the statistics of the new titan, Zoe read it over then placed it in her notebook.

"I wish I could capture it" Zoe sighed.

"I would advise against it, that heat it gives off would cause the steel of a sword to warp" Morgan suggested.

"You've heard of the other aberrants then?" Morgan asked.

"The Colossal and Armored titans? Who hasn't?" Zoe remarked "Even I doubt I can catch the big one".

Morgan nodded as he knew it would be an impossible task.

Zoe snapped her book shut "Thank you for coming to tell me this, you called it the Crimson Steam Titan? This will be invaluable in case we ever encounter it".

"Just doing my job" Morgan smiled and stood up "I'll show you the armor now if you want, it has a few functions of the 3DMG like gas canisters, triggers and gas nozzles".

"Interesting" Zoe said as she looked the armor up and down "So it allows you to jump higher and free run when you're not on your horse?"

"Quite astute, I'm surprised you knew I required a horse to fight titans" Morgan replied with interest.

"It lacks maneuverability and the speed that 3DMG provides, higher jumps won't cut it" Zoe said "But I see that it makes you more effective on flat, open ground where 3DMG would be rendered useless, also I predict that it makes you harder to eat by anything smaller than a 10m class".

"Correct, damn you are good" Morgan chuckled "You summed it up perfectly, even to the class size".

"Well, it's my specialty" Zoe replied and looked Morgan in the eyes with her wild stare. Morgan blushed slightly and looked away, it was normally the girls who blushed he thought.

"What about your weapon?" Zoe asked.

"I use an explosive capped hammer to blast the limbs off a titan before striking the nape when it has fallen" Morgan explained.

"Perfect!" Zoe said with excitement "I assume you replace each blasting cap after every strike?"

"Indeed, the Baron that gave it to me was quite imaginative, if overly paranoid of titans" Morgan said.

"There's no other realistic way of fighting a titan without 3DMG, I like your set up" Zoe nodded in approval "But I'll stick to my 3DMG".

"A good idea, I for one have grown accustomed to this, in fact I prefer my armor now" Morgan said and put his sallet helm back on.

"Ooh it even has a plume" Zoe exclaimed.

Morgan got up and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Morgan, in two weeks Commander Erwin Smith is planning a reconnaissance mission outside Wall Rose to see what's left of Wall Maria and I want to capture a titan at the same time, can you help me?" Zoe asked, almost begged, for she needed a like minded person to assist her.

"Well, I _was_ planning on returning to the Wall Garrison tomorrow but, well, I suppose serving in the Survey Corps for a while could be fun" Morgan said.

"YAHOOO!" Hange Zoe spun around and flung her arms in the air.


	3. Attack on Progress

**Twin Crimson Rose chapter three**

"This shall be the 21st expedition outside the walls, while we have been pushed back at the loss of Wall Maria, we shall not stop until we reclaim our world from the Titans!" Erwin Smith announced to the convoy of the Survey Corps before the gate of Trost.

Morgan stood mounted beside Hange Zoe and her titan capture squad, Levi Squad was further towards the middle along with Erwin's command squad.

The great gates of Trost were raised and the convoy galloped out. The carts full of equipment were located towards the middle of the rear and were close to the titan capture squad for it was required to set up the nets and grapples quickly.

Ten minutes in and they passed a ruined town, Morgan observed his surroundings while trying to absorb as much information as possible since he had never been on an expedition before. As he thought it had been going perfectly smoothly, a red flare signal went up and it caught the formation's attention. A second flare went up, a purple one meaning it was a candidate for capture. They needed to do it close to the walls for getting a titan back to the city further out would be nigh on impossible.

Up ahead of them, Erwin bellowed an order and Levi raced past Morgan from the right flank "Try and keep up, tin man".

"Is he always like this?" Morgan asked Hange. Hange nodded then stuck her arm out left to signal her squad to travel in that direction.

Hange squad came into view of the Titan, a 6m class, so easily manageable.

"Alright, Morgan you're up first, trap carts get in position" Hange ordered. Levi Squad kept off to the right as back up but didn't engage, Levi watched Morgan intently.

Bellerophon neighed and Morgan flicked the reigns then sped off ahead of his squad to engage the titan, he placed a blasting cap on the hammer head then closed into the awkward looking titan that was approaching at a plodding pace. It saw Morgan and tried to reach out but he weaved around it, through its legs and swung his Blast Hammer. The explosion ripped through its left leg and removed it from the knee down and it tripped then fell.

The capture team rode in with pikes to pin it down, they thrusted the sharp points into each limb then stuck a net over it to solidify its imprisonment. The squad then gathered around it and Hange demounted to get a better look at the writhing titan before her.

"Well well, wasn't that easy Mr Titan" Hange teased the unintelligent creature and placed her boot on its nose. It groaned and gnashed its teeth.

"He's a feisty one alright" Hange giggled "Alright get the carts!" One of the squad members fired a flare to signal that the capture was a success.

Morgan trotted around and lifted his visor to examine the titan up close "How many people do you think it's eaten?"

"Impossible to tell unless we cut it open" Hange said "I think..." She was cut short as a red flare went up to the right of the formation. A second flare followed to notify them of how dangerous it was.

"Ok secure the titan, we'll come back for it" Hange ordered and mounted her horse then looked back at the titan then sighed "Don't go anywhere, alright?"

Morgan rejoined the capture squad in formation and lowered his visor then rode off to deal with the new threat 300m away from the captured titan. The walls were just on the horizon at this point in the expedition so they hadn't gone far.

Levi squad was in front of them and Morgan looked up to see a 15m class titan sprint towards the formation "Woah, big dog" Morgan exclaimed as the formation split up on either sides to flank the titan.

A soldier from the right flank swept in on 3DMG and brandished his swords, the titan waved its arms wildly and caught the man's wire in the process, the man was yanked downwards underneath the advancing titans foot and crushed to a bloody mess.

A girl to the right of Morgan gasped "Oh my god, that was Kenneth!"

"We have no choice but to engage it" A new recruit by the name of Petra said, Mike and Gunther followed, they had been in the survey corps for over a year now. Levi let them go and watched how well they performed.

They fired their cables and swung around the back of the titan, Petra spun around and sliced the back of its neck, she then swung down and jumped back onto her horse after retracting the cables. She looked up proudly but discovered that she had not cut deep enough.

The titan reached down for her but its hand exploded as Morgan struck out with his hammer to block its attack. The titan groaned then followed Morgan and left Petra alone. Gunther followed up and sliced through the nape which felled the giant.

"Keep moving, there's more of them!" Levi barked his order and pointed to the red smoke off to the right and past some trees and a house.

Hange's titan capture squad and Levi Squad formed up and made their way towards the right flank "How the hell did they slip through the flank guard?" A soldier cursed.

They passed the house to an open patch of ground to discover the remains of the flank guard. The horses ran wild and 3DMG lay scattered around but no bodies were visible.

"The titans ate everyone?" Petra screamed.

"Get a hold of yourself" Levi scorned and slapped her on the back of the head but stopped suddenly.

Hange trotted up "That wasn't a smoke signal".

Morgan came to the front of the sub-formation to look as well "Oh..."

A man came galloping towards them at full speed from a grove but the trees around him were flattened as a massive hand grabbed him and his horse then crushed the life out of him. The red smoke rose higher and the titan sucked it back in now that it had lured the Survey Corps to it by imitating a red signal flare.

"The Crimson Steam Titan" Hange whispered. The man it had grabbed was then consumed along with its horse.

"Titans don't eat horses" Gunther exclaimed as sweat ran down his neck.

"This one needs to eat whatever it can find" Morgan said and placed his gauntlet hand on his shoulder.

The Crimson Steam Titan blasted a bloody cloud out and propelled itself forwards. Only its arms and menacing façade could be seen through the steam and the wave of heat followed it.

"I'll kill it" Levi said coldly but both Hange and Morgan blocked him in unison with their arms.

"No, your swords will warp, we need to study it before we can beat it" Hange said "She's right, I've met this one before" Morgan added.

"Is that so?" Levi said then barged past them and watched the advancing titan levitate on its cloud of super pressured steam "We run then, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes" Hange said with a nod "It generates lightning as well so we can't get close either".

"How?" Levi asked as he signaled the formation to keep moving. Levi squad and Hange's squad circled around the Crimson Steam Titan.

"It circulates the cloud around it faster and faster till it generates electricity, it doesn't have legs either" Morgan answered.

"I didn't ask you, tin man" Levi shot back as they galloped away from the titan.

"I'm your superior, by the way" Morgan said and pointed to his lieutenant badge.

"Not here you're not" Levi coolly remarked and kicked up the dirt behind him.

"Anyone ever told you, you're a bit of a prick?" Morgan scorned the Corporal.

The rest of the squad fell silent, for the heated argument between the officers was more dangerous than the titan chasing them.

Levi slowly turned his head back and looked at Morgan from the corner of his eye "Is that so?"

Everyone was brought back to reality as the thunderstorm behind them suddenly accelerated with an echoing boom. The steaming titan had raised the pressure of its steam and now it was about to overtake the squads. A squad from the left flank approached in the distance. A girl fired her cable into the cloud and swung towards it but the cable weakened by the immense heat and she was thrown off course, the titan then grabbed her in mid air and shoveled her into its fanged mouth to fuel its hurricane of blood.

"Shit..." Levi swore under his breath "Oi, tin man, give me a blasting cap".

Morgan glared at him from beneath his helmet then rummaged around in his belt pouch then took out a red disk with a button which had to be struck with force to detonate.

"You keep these like that?" Levi asked as Morgan reluctantly passed him an explosive after riding closer together. Two small clamps on the bottom of the disk were used to fasten it to the hammer head.

"They're safe, you need to strike it hard to detonate it" Morgan explained.

Levi turned around to look at the titan then threw the blasting cap backwards straight at its face, the heat and pressure ruptured the casing and it exploded violently in its mouth.

"Or you could do that" Morgan said in surprise.

"I'm smarter than I look" Levi said then went back to his squad.

The steam titan bellowed in fury and clawed at its face then stopped for it had been blinded, it gave the Survey Corps enough time to put distance between them and it for it would take time to regenerate.

[#]

"We set up camp here tonight!" Erwin Smith announced to the whole of the Survey Corps from atop a house. It was a naturally protected quarry surrounded by dense trees and two houses built for the quarry men back before the fall of Wall Maria.

Morgan got off his horse then tied him up with the others, Bellerophon was a large horse compared to the smaller and swifter Survey Corps horses, mainly because he had more to carry but being larger meant he was also stronger and faster. Morgan made his way to the center of the camp to meet Hange Zoe and Captain Levi.

"You're not taking your armor off?" Levi asked coolly with his arms folded.

"It would be a bad idea in case titans find us, it takes too long to get prepared" Morgan said "Hange, find anything more about the Crimson Steam Titan?"

Hange opened her notebook "It's intelligent, we know that much since it used our own signaling method to lure us in, the same kind of intelligence used by the Colossal and Armored titans".

"I'm sorry we weren't able to go back and capture that titan" Morgan said.

"It's alright, it ought to be there when we come back" Hange beamed.

It was getting dark now and the moon was full and bright, owls cooed in the trees and the deer grunted and barked in the brush.

"I hate the sound deer make" Petra whined "You wouldn't' think they bark like that would you, Levi?"

"Would you?" Levi asked and walked away, worrying about the sounds animals make was beneath him.

Soldiers were setting up tents and the officers got the luxury of sleeping in the houses.

"I'll take first watch" Morgan told Erwin. He clicked his hammer's trigger and leaped on top of a well cover next to a house, the gas burst assisted his jump. A second burst and he jumped up onto the roof of the house to begin his night watch. He checked his armor over as best he could to make sure it was still operational, he readjusted the left vambrace which included a type of buckler to defend against swords, not that it would be much use against a titan, neither would a full shield.

Three hours later and Mike hopped up onto the rooftop via 3DMG "The commander says I'm up next, get some rest".

Morgan nodded to him and went to the edge of the roof before Mike put his hand on his shoulder and sniffed the humid night air.

"What?" Morgan asked quizzically.

"I smell something, it's a titan" Mike said "Wake up, titan spotted!"

Morgan turned in the direction where Mike was pointing, towards the trees. Hange Zoe, Levi, Petra and the rest of the Survey Corps rushed out to see what was the matter.

Something came out of the forest but it was not a titan, a girl, no older than 17 with crimson hair wondered into the encampment.

"Your nose must be blocked, Mike" Hange joked then walked up to the girl "Hi, how did you get here? Did you survive the attack on Shiganshina?"

The girl nodded and collapsed in Hange's arms "Medic, hey medic this girl needs attention!"

"My nose is never wrong" Mike said in annoyance then checked the wind again for any traces of the titan, it was still there and it was coming from the girl.

"Perhaps you just made a mistake" Morgan said and jumped down from the rooftop, he slowed his descent with a blast of gas "I'm surprised she made it this far".

Mike analyzed the new girl, he knew that something was off about her, the chances of her just turning up out of the blue was slim especially now that it had almost been a month since the fall of Shiganshina. Hange and the medical team wrapped the girl in a blanket and comforted her.

"I don't like this" Mike muttered under his breath then went back to his watch.


	4. Attack on Trust

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 4**

Quinn Mason sat by the windowsill of her bedroom within the fort of Stohess district. She hummed gently to herself and looked out at the blue sky before her, birds flew by and squawked. It was a beautiful city, at least in comparison to Shiganshina which was impoverished and drab.

It had been two weeks since Morgan St Clare had left her behind to rejoin the Wall Garrison in order to fight the titans and it had been the longest two weeks of her life, she missed him both as her best friend and as more.

 _We all have to fight, one way or another._

Quinn remembered what Morgan had told her, about how everyone, no matter who you were had to fight in this world to survive. She was still young and she had nothing to live for, no plans for her future, at least none that _she_ had planned. No doubt her father would find a rich nobleman for her to marry against her will, Baron Mason was not a bad man but that's just how rich families worked. He prohibited her from traveling with Morgan, not because he did not trust him but because it would be dangerous for his only daughter.

"Maybe I should fight then" Quinn said with a sigh. She sat upright and looked out at the walls in the distance "I'll join the Wall Garrison and find Morgan then fight the titans with him, I'll find him first before he comes to see me".

[#]

Quinn walked through the main gates of the fort with a Military Police uniform and hooded cape over her head. She had packed a bag with plenty of clothes, money and food. Due to the sloppy nature of the MP, no one was on duty so she walked out uncontested. If her father knew what she was doing, he would be furious but if she followed through then she would not see him again for a very long time. She had a knife tucked under her belt for it would be a long journey to reach Wall Rose and there were many dangers even if titans were not a problem this far inside the walls.

Quinn reached a stables on the edge of the district near the main gates and hailed the assistant.

"Hi, I... I was wondering if you could sell me a horse?" Quinn asked nervously.

The man looked at her with a puzzled look on his face "Um, sure, I didn't think I'd ever need to supply the Military Police with horses. The one from the far right is available, two silvers".

An ash colored horse stamped its hooves and munched on some hay, it was in good condition and looked like it was around four years old.

"I'll take it" Quinn said and handed the man three silvers.

"You've over paid me" The man chuckled.

"I'll need a saddle as well" Quinn said and gestured to the row of leather saddles.

"Ah" the man exclaimed then went off to prepare the horse.

[#]

Quinn was traveling along a well worn dirt path from Stohess to Trost and she was about a days travel through her journey. Despite this, she still had perhaps another five days of traveling to go. She passed through a small village and the people there seemed happy and well.

"Morning Missy" An old farmer took his hat off to her and Quinn smiled back and waved. A pair of children ran out onto the road playing with sticks.

 _It's as if the titans never attacked._

Quinn trotted through the peaceful town and hummed to herself in time with the black birds and robins that came to the old farmers field. Many hours later it had begun to get dark, the rhythmic pitter-pat of rain began, so Quinn put her hood back up.

A thunderstorm started to brew, so Quinn took shelter underneath a large oak tree, she tied up her horse to a branch then looked up at the moon while taking some bread out of her bag for dinner.

"This world is so beautiful, isn't it Percy?"

Percy the horse snorted and returned to eating some grass.

"Hmm, it is" Quinn answered for him in her gentle and warm voice.

[#]

 **Titan territory, within Wall Maria.**

The next morning, Mike patrolled the encampment early using his sharp nose to pick up any titans before they could be seen but one thing still clouded his sense and it was the mystery girl that had appeared late last night. He stepped over a deep puddle that was formed by the sudden thunderstorm and entered the house where Erwin Smith was staying.

"Sir, no titans for the next seven miles or so, I suggest we move out immediately before that changes" Mike said and saluted to the officer before him.

"Indeed, I was thinking the same thing" Erwin replied in his strong voice "Wake the men".

"Yes sir" Mike saluted again before departing.

The crimson haired girl walked out from the room that she had been sleeping in, she was nervous so tugged on Erwin's jacket.

"Am I coming with you?" She asked.

"Yes, we can't leave you here by yourself, tell me, do you have a name?" Erwin asked.

"Florence Bellerose" She answered.

"So you're of French descent?" Erwin asked while doing up his harness.

"I think so" Florence said with a nod.

"So, Florence, can you ride a horse?"

[#]

"Oi, titan, 10m class dead ahead" Levi called back to his team "Don't fire a signal, I'll remove it quickly".

Levi Squad galloped from the front this time and were arranged in a perfect formation. Petra blinked and missed Levi slay the titan. Her jaw dropped.

"Impressive, I almost missed that" Morgan said as he galloped alongside Levi.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Levi asked, for Morgan was supposed to be on the right flank.

"Erwin has given me a message to relay as I have the fastest horse, we're to circle back by two miles and set up the access route through a small village, after that the expedition will be a success and we can return to Wall Rose" Morgan informed Levi. It was true that Bellerophon could out-pace the Survey Corps horses but they were bred for being swifter and smaller as it would make them harder to catch by titans and Morgan's horse needed to be strong enough to carry a man in armor and still perform well.

"Tch, alright, hear that men? We travel west" Corporal Levi shouted back to his squad and Morgan split off to rejoin Hange's squad.

Twenty minutes later and the Survey Corps had gathered within a small village south of the wall, about 30km from the gate of Wall Rose.

"Well done men, we've had very few casualties so far" Commander Erwin announced from atop a wagon. "Cartographers, map this area and the route we came, engineers set up signs and place the long term supplies we brought within the cellar of this house" Erwin pointed to a timber framed cottage beside the main road. The supplies would sit there until the Survey Corps had need of them during a future expedition.

Morgan trotted up to Hange Zoe from behind.

"It's been successful so far" Morgan said "How does this compare to the previous missions?"

"We would consider this perfect, only ten deaths. I'm still itching to get back to the titan we captured" Hange said and fiddled with her hair.

"It may have escaped, after all it wasn't a particularly heavy trap" Morgan said.

"Don't say that" Hange simmered "We'll get it".

Florence Bellerose trotted around the village on horseback and looked around, Morgan observed her.

"It's incredible that she made it this far without getting eaten" Morgan said and raised the visor on his sallet helm "Her hair though, it's not natural".

Florence trotted behind the cottage where none could see her. Mike was busy tending to his horse so he didn't notice what came next.

Away from prying eyes, Florence's own eyes glowed red and she breathed out a puff of crimson steam from her mouth which swirled up into the air and dissipated, it's destination unknown.

Back with the main group, a few minutes later Mike sniffed the air and caught something, he was getting accustomed to a titan scented human with them so was able to shift between her and real titans.

"Commander, titans!" Mike bellowed and the formation panicked.

"Steady men!" Erwin ordered and jumped onto his horse "Fortunately we are within the confines of a village so we can use our equipment here more effectively" He assured his soldiers.

Levi trotted around and looked over in the direction that the titans should have been coming from.

"Captain, titans advancing from the east!" Petra announced and drew her swords.

"Levi, to the south as well" Morgan said and lowered his visor then attached a blasting cap to his hammer.

Levi looked around and saw the silhouettes of dozens of titans "Shit..."

"Commander Erwin, titans from the north!" A soldier barked.

"Form up, all units form up, we have been encircled here, we will not let any titan break into this village! Levi squad, handle the south, Hange Squad take the north, the rest of us shall take the east and west sides" Erwin commanded.

One set of plodding footsteps was louder than the rest and over a distant tree line came a massive titan, perhaps 30m tall.

"Hange, look, a new titan class" Morgan said and trotted up beside the Captain.

"It's a Gargantuan Titan!" Hange squealed.

"Don't you think it might be tall enough to climb the walls, maybe if it reached?" Morgan asked.

"No, not quite, it's arms are about fifteen meters long making it seven meters shy of the wall, if it reached up" Hange calculated "I doubt normal titans can get larger than this one".

"Well, it's bloody huge, half the size of the Colossal Titan" Morgan remarked. Hange drew a quick sketch and noted down its stats in her notebook before flicking the reigns of her horse in order to engage the titans. Morgan and the rest of the squad galloped after Hange while the other teams took to their sides.

The Gargantuan Titan spied the approaching squad and began to swipe its massive arm across the field to swat them. It was too slow so the squad maneuvered around it with ease.

Morgan rode in close to its left leg and swung his hammer which took a large chunk from its shin with a compact blast but due to the immensity of the beast it remained standing. It turned and tried to stamp on Morgan but missed. Three smaller titans wondered around its feet, all around 3-5m class.

Hange Zoe fired her 3DMG cables into the Gargantuan Titan's thigh and swung around then struck the damaged leg with her swords, this time it went through and the leg was severed from its foot, the titan stumbled and bellowed in pain. It placed a hand down to steady itself and an unfortunate soldier was crushed beneath its giant palm. Morgan avoided the collapsing right leg but swerved and met a 3m titan which swung its arms and knocked him off his horse.

The rest of the squad attacked the now lowered Gargantuan Titan, its immense size meant that they couldn't reach its neck even with 3DMG from the ground.

Morgan rolled over and stood up with a clatter, Bellerophon trotted around but stayed close. He attached a new blasting cap as the 3m titan advanced on him. It was small enough that he could look it in the eyes, it was fairly dull as most titans were.

The titan grabbed at him with its not so massive hands, after all it was only twice the size of a human. Morgan sidestepped it and clicked the trigger on his hammer, he jumped up towards the titan on a burst of gas, placed his left hand on its shoulder and swung down on its nape with his hammer from the side. The resulting blast ripped through the nape and out of the collar bone of the titan and it fell.

Morgan raised the visor of his helmet to see the Gargantuan Titan fall after being carved up by Hange's Squad. He dropped it again after realizing that a 4m class titan was behind him. He jumped away on a burst of gas but it grabbed his arm, Morgan tried to break free but even at 4m it was too strong. It stuck him head first into its mouth and crunched down but found that most of its teeth shattered in unison on the armor plating. It groaned in frustration and Morgan swung the spiked end of his hammer into its left eye and it dropped him suddenly.

Morgan scrambled up and took out another blasting cap then fastened it to the hammer head, the titan reached for him again but Morgan moved in close and swung upwards then blasted its head inside out from the chin upwards. It fell forwards and Morgan stepped away before going in for the second explosive strike to the nape. The smoke mixed with the rising steam as the titan began to break down and rapidly decay.

"Nice one!" Hange beamed as she sliced the other small titan down "I've never seen someone actually fight them on foot before" Hange's squad rode up to Morgan on their horses after dealing with the Gargantuan Titan.

"Well, my gear is designed to match the smaller ones on foot, anything larger than a 4m class and I need my horse" Morgan said and called Bellerophon over to him.

"Alright, get your horse, we'll return to the formation and see how they're doing" Hange said.

A red smoke signal from the west signaled trouble.

"Aren't you glad you wear plate armor" Hange teased Morgan.

"Very, I don't like the inside of a titans mouth" Morgan grumbled and checked his armor for dents, he found a few which he could hammer out later. Morgan then mounted his horse and sped off with the rest of the squad to assist the main formation.

"I reckon Levi's done by now" Hange said.

"I reckon he was done the moment we started" Morgan chuckled.

* * *

 **Character Profile** **:** Morgan St Clare

Height: 176cm

Weight: 68kg

Age: 17 (At the fall of Wall Maria, year 845)

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Stone grey

Grade: Lieutenant

Affiliation: Wall Garrison

Race: Human

Birthday: 21st September

Friends: Hange Zoe, Quinn Mason

Enemies: Levi Ackerman, titans

 **Stats:**

Combat: 9/10

Initiative: 6/10

Wits: 7/10

Teamwork: 4/10

Intelligence: 9/10

Durability: 11/10

Humanities Strongest Soldiers Rank: 21/100

(This means that Morgan is the 21st strongest soldier, where Levi is 1st and Mike is 2nd, this puts him at strong but not exceptional, the rating is out of 100 so if they are ranked against that number, it means that they are among the top 100 soldiers out of tens of thousands)

 **Character Pros:** Strong willed, adaptable, high tolerance for both people and pain, inquisitive, sociable but doesn't talk much, normally well mannered and polite.

 **Character Cons:** Often oblivious to events around him if he focuses on one thing too much including people's emotions, his mind drifts from time to time, can be over-zealous at times, over-methodical, generally prefers to work alone.

 **HTSA: Horizontal Titan Slaying Armor**

(Includes Blast Hammer)

Weight: 48kg

Composition: High carbon steel

Armor: Sallet Helm, chest plate, pauldrons, gauntlets, bracers, shin guards/boots, midriff armor and tassets.

Movement: Locomotion aided by gas propulsion nozzles located at the ankles.

 **Pros:** Allows for more effective titan fighting while on flat and featureless terrain, can match up to a 4m class titan without a horse if assisted by gas propulsion and Blast Hammer, difficult to be consumed by anything smaller than a 10m class titan, Blast Hammer more effective at incapacitating a titan than a sword, gas assisted propulsion jumping allows the user to free-run and break falls with jumps up to 3m high, Blast Hammer can break hardened titan skin.

 **Cons:** Slower and less maneuverable compared to 3DMG, normally requires a horse to combat larger titans, requires two strikes to slay a titan as opposed to one unless the titan's nape is within reach of the Blast Hammer therefore slower but more reliable, metal armor makes titan generated steam more intolerable, user is heavy due to armor's weight.

A drawing of Morgan in his armor can be seen on the stories thumbnail image, this image is old and a new and more historically accurate design has been created but the old one will give a rough idea as to what Morgan looks like.


	5. Attack on Determination

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 5**

Levi squad met up with Hange Squad after they had cleared their respective sides of titan assailants. They galloped towards the west of the town to see how the rest of the Survey Corps was handling the attack.

"Bring it down!" A soldier shouted and swooped towards the 10m class in front of him, he sliced the back of the neck then landed on the roof of a house. He turned to see a 15m class' fist racing towards him, it grabbed the poor man and crushed his legs before stuffing him into its mouth.

Levi shot towards it like a bullet and cut it down, the titan collapsed into the house with a crash.

"Someone check if that man's still alive" Levi ordered.

"He's not" Morgan said as he rode up to the Corporal.

"And you can be so quick to judge?" Levi sneered.

"His head is there" Morgan pointed to the ruined house. A decapitated head lay on its side in the door frame. He then rode off to help the command squad.

"Tch" Levi spat and galloped back to his squad.

Florence Bellerose had been watching the fighting progress, she frowned and did not look pleased.

The last of the titans were finished off after the tense battle to determine whether or not the expedition would be a success, it was about midday and Erwin ordered the rest of the Survey Corps back to the village.

"Private, get me a casualty report" Erwin ordered.

"Sir, we lost 14 men to the titan attack" The soldier said.

Erwin's complexion shifted slightly, it could have been worse.

"Alright, everyone form up and get the wounded to the carts, recover any bodies you can. We leave this point in twenty minutes to return to Wall Rose" Erwin announced.

"Yes sir!" The soldiers around him saluted.

[#]

Quinn was back on the now waterlogged main road, Percy the horse splashed through puddles and soaked her knee high boots.

"Why did it have to rain?" Quinn sighed to herself. Up ahead, she spied a convoy of the Military Police, Quinn panicked but realized it was too late to hide her uniform.

"Afternoon soldier" The Corporal addressed Quinn from his horse.

"Afternoon sir" Quinn replied and saluted the best she could. She remembered how the military salute went.

The wagons stopped rolling as the Corporal signaled "Where might you be off to?"

"Oh, I'm... I'm relaying a message to Captain Hannes of the Wall Garrison in Trost" Quinn said and held up a rolled parchment of paper. In reality, it was her birth certificate to prove that she was a noble's daughter.

"Very good, be on your way" The corporal nodded and the convoy started moving again.

Quinn waited until they were out of sight before carrying on, she let out her breath in relief.

"That was a close one, Percy" Quinn exclaimed.

"Yes, yes it was" Quinn replied for her horse.

[#]

Four hours later and Quinn had covered just over a third of her journey, the heat of the day had long since passed its prime and had dried up last nights thunderstorm. She passed through a dense forest and got off her horse for a quick rest.

A band of men rode up to her on horseback from the south, they surrounded her and she opened her eyes suddenly, she had fallen asleep next to a big pine tree.

"Evening, little lady" One said and got off of his horse.

Quinn stood up suddenly "Um... hi".

"What's a girl like you doing out here so late?" The man asked.

"Late? It's only..." Quinn looked up to the black sky. She had been asleep for perhaps six hours.

"Where are you going? Want us to escort you, miss-officer-of-the-law?" He asked, Quinn looked him up and down and saw a tattoo on his neck.

 _Slavers._

Quinn thought for a moment and steeled her nerves "Yes, actually that would be of great help, you never know who's out in the wild parts, especially at night" She got on her horse and trotted up to him.

The man's expression changed to that of success, he nodded to his men around him then looked down at his stomach after noticing a searing pain.

The man screamed in agony.

Quinn wrenched her knife out of the man's gut and whipped the reigns of her horse and sped away towards Trost.

The man spluttered and gripped his wound "Get her!" He bellowed. The slavers charged after Quinn on horseback down the muddy road through the forest. They chased her all through the night but she had gone too far ahead.

About 25 miles away from atop a hill, Quinn could see the gates of Trost district in the distance. It was morning now and Quinn was exhausted and so was Percy. They stopped and looked at the amazing view of the world around her. She looked down at her belt to see the bloody knife had stained her cream white trousers deep red.

 _I need to change my clothes after I reach Trost._

[#]

"The bastard got away!" Hange screamed in fury as they returned to the point at which they had captured the titan. Morgan trotted up beside her.

"No, look, something released it" Morgan said and pointed at a set of larger footsteps leading on from the broken net and pikes.

"Perhaps you're right" Hange said and examined the area "Oh I'm never gonna capture a titan" She sobbed.

"No, we will, at some point we will" Morgan comforted her. Hange looked up and smiled at him.

"Oi, are you two inseparable of something? Erwin says to move out" Levi said and raced beyond the capture point with his squad. The walls were in sight now.

An hour later and the Survey Corps had returned to Trost district with only 20% Casualties sustained.

"Alright men, we return to HQ as planned, no stopping, our mission was a success!" Erwin announced.

The formation passed through Trost district and everyone relaxed now that they were safe, they had left Florence Bellerose in the care of the Military Police as they carried on their way. They rode along the main path in order to return to their HQ and passed a girl in Military Police uniform. Morgan looked back as he thought he recognized the girl.

"So, Morgan, how long will you stay with us? There's a lot of research we can work on together if you stay" Hange asked.

"Well I'm not sure, I intended to return to the Wall Garrison to prepare for future titan attacks but perhaps learning about the nature of titans could be more rewarding" Morgan said and raised his visor, he then decided to removed his helmet entirely for it wasn't required.

"At least we know how to hurt the Crimson Steam Titan, but how do you think we could kill it if it ever attacks again?" Hange asked.

"HE shells perhaps? My explosive seemed to do the job but I couldn't get close enough because of the heat, it's worse for me since I'm in armor" Morgan suggested.

"I was right, you two don't stop, do you?" Corporal Levi said as he trotted up from behind them.

"Cause we're the smart ones" Hange claimed with a grin.

"Tch" Levi trotted on ahead of them.

[#]

Quinn reached the main gates of Trost and hailed the guards. When she was inside the district, she found an inn and changed into her civilian clothes and left the uniform behind in her room.

 _Morgan will be with the Wall Garrison by now, there's no way that I can just ask to see him as I'd have to reveal myself as the Baron's daughter to even be allowed an audience with the Garrison officers, a commoner stands no chance either. If I gain an audience by telling them who I am, then no doubt they will inform my father and I'll have to go back._

"I'm going to join the Wall Garrison!" Quinn exclaimed in an overdramatic manner to her empty room.

[#]

 **Military Police Barracks, Trost District.**

"You're here to sign up for the military, are you?" A chubby officer asked from behind his desk.

"Yes sir" Quinn said and shuffled nervously on her chair.

"Just so you know, only the top 10 of your class get the chance to join the Military Police, that is what you're here to do, right?" The officer said after looking up at the forged documents "Also you'll be a bit older than most of the applicants, most join at 13 or 14".

"No sir, I'm here for the Wall Garrison. You wouldn't happen to know a Lieutenant Morgan St Clare, would you?"

The officer couched his fat chin on his thick fingers and sighed, his breath smelled of alcohol "Hmm, St Clare... St Clare, yes, I remember, he left the Wall Garrison just under eight months ago to become a private security guard".

"So he's not here in Trost?" Quinn asked, she already knew the information he had told her.

"Not that I know of, I haven't heard anything from him since" The officer said "You were looking for him?"

"Yes, I wanted to join the Wall Garrison to help him fight the titans" Quinn said half heartedly.

The officer chuckled "A noble cause, is he your boyfriend?"

"What? No he's just a dear friend, he said he came to rejoin the guard after the attack on Shiganshina" Quinn blurted out.

"Well I'm afraid I can't help you, the chances of me knowing who's in the Wall Garrison is slim since it's a different faction to the MP, I only knew of him 'cause we met at Dot Pixis' 60th birthday" The officer said "If you join the Wall Garrison then I'm sure you will find him if that was his intention".

"Um, ok thank you sir" Quinn said in disappointment, she didn't want to gamble by joining the military then finding out three years later that Morgan was not there, even if that did happen then she would still get to fight the titans like she intended, if she could accomplish at least one of her goals then it would make it all worth it, after all he had promised her that he would come back, although she was no longer in Stohess.

"Well everything looks to be in order, welcome to the military, recruit" The officer said and reached over the desk to shake her hand. Quinn shook back "You will be joining the 101st Trainee Corps so pack your things, you leave Monday".

[#]

 **Recruit Training Grounds, near Trost District.**

"Welcome to the 101st Trainee Corps, scumbags!" Keith Shadis harshly announced to the assembled 71 recruits. Quinn was sweating profusely out of nervousness, at least the cadet uniform was more comfortable than the Military Police one she stole, probably because this one was meant for her.

Most of the cadets were 14 years old but there were a few around her age as well.

"What's your name missy?" Keith shouted at Quinn.

"Q-Quinn, sir" Quinn replied with a stutter.

"Q-Quinn what?" Keith roared, mocking her nervousness.

"Quinn Taylor, sir" Quinn replied, this time with a stronger voice despite her lie.

"Well, Quinn Taylor, why are you here?" Keith asked, in his normal shouting tone.

"To join the Wall Garrison, sir!" Quinn answered.

"Good girl, now see to it that you do!" Keith said approvingly "Alright, how about you?" He pointed to a timid boy on the far right and harassed him.

After he had mopped the boy around and reduced him to a nervous wreck, he spied a girl with crimson hair "You, what's your name?" Keith shouted at her.

"Florence Bellerose!" The girl announced with fire in her eyes.

"And what are you here for, Flo?" Keith asked.

"To kill them all, sir!" Florence grinned menacingly.

"Don't we all" Keith nodded then moved on to the other recruits.

* * *

 **Character Profile:** Crimson Steam Titan

Height: 15m (When floating)

 **Stats:**

Power: 8/10

Speed: 10/10

Threat: 7/10

Horror: 11/10

Toughness: 7/10

Hotness: 11/10

 **Last chapter for a few days since I've written them in advance and posted them once a day, I'll run out otherwise. This story will probably keep going for a long time.**


	6. Attack on Intent

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 6**

 **Stohess District, almost 2 months after the fall of Wall Maria.**

"Attention, attention everyone!" The Military Police officer called out at the town square atop a podium. The crowd that was going about their business stopped to give him a moment of their time.

"We're looking for one Quinn Mason, I repeat, we're looking for Quinn Mason the daughter of Baron Mason, she went missing last week" The man addressed the people but got no response.

"It's no use, no one in this damned snob-nosed district has seen her, that or they're too up themselves to care" The officer beside the podium said with a shake of his head.

"Why do we always get the shitty jobs?" The first officer said and stepped down from the podium.

[#]

 **Cadet Training Grounds, near Trost.**

"Alright recruits, today is day five of your three year training course, now that you have passed our rudimentary fitness tests, we want to see how you cope with heights for when you get issued your 3DMG" Keith Shadis announced "Of course you won't lay hands on such a device for a few months yet".

Keith stood before a group of about twenty recruits including Quinn and Florence "You, Miss Flo, get up that ladder and onto the beam!".

"Yes sir!" Florence Bellerose replied and took to the ladder like lightning then easily climbed across the beam onto the platform built into a tree.

"Impressive, go higher!" Shadis barked, they were not using safety equipment at all, he had informed them that some of them may die during training as it was _that_ harsh.

Florence back-flipped onto the next beam and landed with her arms out like a gymnast.

Keith took a moment to register what had happened but then snapped back to his normal self "Outstanding cadet, I have a feeling you will be finishing first this year. Right you worms, I wanna see you do what she just did at least once in the three miserable years you're here, got that?"

"Yes sir!" The cadets shouted in unison, Quinn looked up at Florence and Florence gave her the _I'm better than you_ look.

"Alright, get down" Keith ordered Florence, she was about seven meters up in the air now.

Florence dropped down and landed in a crouch instead of taking the ladder.

"Unbelievable, alright go back to the barracks, your training is done for the day" Keith shouted in disbelief.

Florence smirked then saluted the officer "Yes sir, thank you sir".

[#]

"Did you see her?" Someone whispered in the corner of the mess hall.

"Yeah I heard she's joining the Military Police, man has she got moves" Another person answered. Quinn looked at them from across the hall while eating dinner.

Florence Bellerose walked in from the front door, she had been for an evening jog.

"Look, she even works overtime!" The boy exclaimed, he got up and ran to her.

"Hey, Flo, I was wondering if...".

"No, and don't call me that" Florence said and put her hand in his face, she sidestepped him and went to the serving area.

"She's a bitch too" Quinn said to herself, Florence heard it but didn't react.

[#]

 **Survey Corps HQ.**

Captain Levi walked into the officer's lounge within the castle to see Hange and Morgan having their normal conversations about titans. They were a match made in heaven for they both shared similar curiosity and intelligence. This was one of the few times Levi had seen Morgan out of his armor.

Captain Wilhelm Adler, a man about 25 years old who had been in the Corps for the last four years sat with them, they had drawn him into the subject by unknown means.

Erwin Smith sat at a different table drinking coffee "Levi, we have an equipment inspection today".

"What of it?" Levi asked while getting a glass of water.

"Inform your squad for me please, you may be absent for I know your gear will be spotless" Erwin said.

"I've never attended an inspection since you say that every time" Levi said as he left the room.

[#]

The inspection officer looked Morgan's armor up and down, he wasn't sure how to judge it for it wasn't standard issue equipment.

"Um, there's dents in your chest plate" The officer said to Morgan while pointing out the obvious.

"A titan bit me, I never got the chance to hammer them out" Morgan answered, he was ranked above the officer so he wasn't getting yelled at. The only people who outranked him were the squad leaders and the commander. Back in the Wall Garrison however, he was one of the four Lieutenants under Commander Dot Pixis and his two majors and so was a third in command.

The officer turned to the man beside Morgan and looked at his equipment "What is this piece of crap?!" He shouted in complete contrast.

The man panicked and looked down at his 3DMG.

"Look it's filthy, go clean it then when you bring it back, clean it again!" The officer barked in his face.

Morgan grinned and chuckled to himself.

[#]

"I swear every time I try to leave you drag me back, Hange" Morgan said as he hammered the dents out of his armor in the steelworks of the castle.

"Oh come on, it's only been, like, twice" Hange said as she leaned against the door frame.

"Seven times actually".

"But we still need to capture a titan" Hange whined while ignoring him "Besides, I seriously doubt that Trost or any other outer districts will get attacked in the near future, your skills are of much greater use here with the Survey Corps".

"It will be a momentous task capturing a titan and examining it properly, you know that right? There's more to just trapping it" Morgan said and put the small hammer on the table beside him. He took a polishing cloth then went over the steel plate armor that he had repaired.

"I know and that's why I want you to stay" Hange said.

Morgan sighed "Hand me that piece of parchment paper over there along with a quill and ink".

Hange picked up a roll of paper and the writing implements then passed them to Morgan "What are you doing?"

"I'm writing a business contract, after four and a half years my contract with the Survey Corps will end and I shall return to re-join the Wall Garrison, you have me for a long time but after that I'm not coming back, alright? I know I'm not needed urgently back in the garrison but it's where I belong" Morgan said while scribbling down the terms and conditions then signing it and handing it to Hange to do the same.

Hange looked it over "Woohoo!" She exclaimed then hugged Morgan.

"Just be glad it's for the sake of humanity, otherwise I'd be long gone. Expeditions are not my kind of thing, just remember that" Morgan said and hugged Hange back.

"Just kiss already" Levi said from the door of the steelworks, he had walked in on them during their embrace.

Morgan and Hange let go of each other suddenly and went back to work, red in the face.

[#]

"Hey Morgan, you said you weren't leaving!" Hange said as she stormed into the officer's lounge.

"I'm not, but since there's nothing I can do at the moment, I thought I could go see my friend in Stohess, I'll be back in a week" Morgan replied after looking up from his book.

"Oh, right" Hange said and looked embarrassed "Wait, before you go can you look over this report I've written?"

"Sure, just put it with my things, I leave tomorrow morning" Morgan said and flicked a page over.

"Yippee!" Hange exclaimed and spun around being her normal self.

Levi walked in with his evening coffee "Do you, Tin Man, take Psycho Titan Bitch as your wife?"

"FUCK OFF LEVI!" Hange and Morgan both shouted in unison at the captain as he walked to the sink. The slightest of grins grew upon Levi's somber face.

[#]

 **Stohess, three days later.**

Morgan trotted through Stohess district on horseback down the main road, it was as posh a city as when he left it but that was to be expected, after all, no titan had made it this far within the walls, ever.

Twenty minutes later, Morgan entered the fort at the center of the city, guards came to assist and led his horse away to the stables for him. The large double doors then opened suddenly much to his surprise. Morgan lifted his helmet's visor as the baron came rushing out to meet him.

"Morgan, Morgan thank god you're here, you haven't seen her have you!?" Baron Mason gasped desperately.

"Who?"

"Quinn, Quinn's gone missing!" The baron was red in the face, he may have been drinking earlier.

"What, where?" Morgan asked.

"We don't know, she just disappeared from her room with no motives or reasons about two weeks ago, no one in this damned city has seen her!".

Morgan looked visibly shocked at the news "Do you have any hints or information on where to find her?"

The baron shuffled uncomfortably "My men, they found a wounded slaver in the forest nearby, the information we gleaned from him before he died on us..."

"Milord? Tell me" Morgan insisted.

"We think they took her and sold her into slavery" The baron sobbed.

Morgan's expression of shock quickly turned to anger.

"Morgan?" The baron asked with red eyes, despite being a strong willed man, the thought of his only daughter being sold as a slave was too much for him.

"Yes, Milord?"

Baron Mason stared at the emblem on Morgan's chest, the twin crimson rose of the Wall Garrison. Morgan's complexion turned even darker and he dropped his helmet's visor with a clunk.

"What would you have me do?" Morgan asked with dark and furious intent.

"Bring her back" Baron Mason whispered wearily.

 **Next time: 3 Months later.**


	7. Attack on Attempt

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 7**

 **Mountain training area near Trost, five months after the fall of Wall Maria.**

"Florence, please wait up, I'm struggling here!" Quinn gasped as they trudged through the snow capped mountains. She was carrying masses of camping and survival equipment.

"Of all the people in this damned corps, I get stuck with you" Florence Bellerose simmered.

"I'm... I'm not that bad, am I?" Quinn jogged up to Florence from behind but instantly regretted the decision after she pulled her leg, the weight of the equipment was getting to her. Florence carried an equally large load but seemed unfazed.

"So far your grade rank is 67 out of 71, that means you're one of the worst, I'm in the number one spot if you need the contrast to help you understand" Florence claimed and picked up her pace in spite of Quinn.

"Yeah, but I'm..." Quinn stopped mid sentence and sighed "I know you're better than me, everyone even, but I'm trying my best".

"Then perhaps you should go back to being a little noble's girl" Florence snapped.

Quinn stopped walking "What do you mean?"

"Forget what I said, it's nothing" Florence said after realizing her mistake.

"Do you... do you know who I am?" Quinn asked, Florence stopped and turned back to face her. Before she could open her mouth to reply, a grunting noise came from the brush followed by the crashing of bushes being shaken from the freshly lain snow.

"Oh shit..." Florence whispered.

A grizzly bear appeared and reared up to get a good look at the two girls before it, it had not eaten in almost a month. Quinn grabbed her knife and held it in front of her but she was shaking so much that she dropped it.

"Useless girl!" Florence berated her and she drew her own knife but the bear roared then pounced and bit down on her arm and cracked the bone. Florence screamed in pain and Quinn dropped to her knees in terror.

"Do something you idiot!" Florence screamed and wrestled the bear, she thumped its nose with her other hand and it grunted, she only pissed it off.

Quinn held out her hand to take the knife but she froze with tears in her eyes, she had never been so scared in her life, not even when the titans had attacked her home could compare to this somehow, probably because she was with Morgan. Morgan would have killed the bear by now but she was useless.

Florence glanced up at Quinn and was ready to resort to her last plan "QUINN MASON". Quinn looked at her in shock, they really had met before.

"I'LL KEEP YOUR SECRET IF YOU KEEP MINE!" Florence screamed.

"W-what?" Quinn asked and wiped her tears away.

Florence took her free arm and bit into her hand, the world went white from the blast of light and the area around them become devoid of snow and ice as an immense wave of heat singed the ground.

Quinn stopped in her entirety, she couldn't feel anything anymore.

The Crimson Steam Titan was before her, its legless torso sat upright on the ground as opposed to levitating on steam and it held the grizzly bear in its colossal jaws, it crunched down and bisected it then guzzled the other half down as well. It turned to Quinn and its face appeared from the red steam, it looked like a horribly deformed Florence Bellerose with blood dripping from its maw.

"H-how..." Darkness took her and Quinn drifted away.

[#]

Quinn woke in the strong yet feminine arms of Florence as she trudged down the mountainside back to the barracks. She could only carry one set of camping and survival gear, they would lose points for leaving the other behind.

"F-Florence?" Quinn asked weakly.

"Yeah?" Florence looked down at her.

"W-what happened?" Quinn closed her eyes again as she was desperately tired.

"You got spooked by a wild boar and hit your head, much to my luck" Florence replied.

"Oh, um, thank you" Quinn stuttered "I had the strangest and most horrible nightmare when I was out".

"Yeah? What happened?" Florence asked.

"I don't remember it all but, no never mind, humans can't turn into titans" Quinn shook her head slightly.

"Hmm, you're right, they can't" Florence assured her "You had one hell of a trip and you're exhausted as well, I'm not surprised that its addled your brain". The lights of the barracks drew closer.

"Florence, why did you bite your hand?" Quinn asked as she looked down at her own body, Florence's right hand was around her arm and torso in a cradle like shape.

"I didn't, that was the boar, see there's a tusk mark" Florence pointed to where the bear had ripped through her coat sleeve, the wound had already healed but the bite mark was taking a bit longer.

"You got hurt trying to help me?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, something like that".

[#]

 **Near Hermina district, abandoned mine.**

Marcus sat back on his chair as he guarded the entrance to the mine shaft, his friend Phil was asleep on the ground next to him and a set of playing cards was strewn across the crate that they used as a table, a few bottles of beer complimented the mess.

Marcus kicked Phil to wake him up "Oi, we're supposed to be on guard duty".

"Piss off" Phil murmured and returned to sleep.

"Phil, the boss will be back with more cargo, get up" Marcus insisted and kicked him again.

Phil grunted and got up slowly "When?"

"Any time now, we've got four more slaves comin' today, I think" Marcus said "That's good profit".

Phil chucked the empty beer bottles into the bushes around him, the mine shaft housed the base of operations for the slavers and it resided in a dark forest near Hermina district, south of Stohess.

"Look, here he comes now" Marcus said and stood up "I don't see no wagon though". A horse galloped towards them at breakneck speed.

"Looks like the boss screwed up then" Phil said and scratched his chin, a crossbow bolt impaled his head to the wooden support of the mine shaft.

"Phil, what the..." Marcus began but he was cut silent by a bolt to the throat.

The horse slowed to a trot and its rider dismounted with a clunk "Scumbags" Morgan spat and restrung his crossbow then placed it on his back, he had added the new weapon to his gear within the past three months. Morgan tied Bellerophon up to a tree.

"I've raided three of your godamned bases and killed your ringleader and they know jack all" Morgan cursed and lit the lantern that was also on the men's table. He drew his hammer but didn't fasten a blasting cap to it, mainly because it wasn't necessary since his enemies were only humans here and partially because he didn't want to cause a cave-in. "Well it's my birthday today, so it can't be that bad".

Morgan had turned 18 years old today. He turned to the man that was stuck to the support post via a bolt, the eyes twitched slightly as it had impaled him through his brain. Morgan felt terrible for killing another human even if they were villains, after all being killed by another human was unthinkable within the walls, since it was only the titans who killed humans.

"Wish me luck, Bellerophon, this is their last base so she must be here" Morgan said to his horse but knew that within three months Quinn could have been sold off as a slave. He advanced into the gloomy mineshaft. It was cramped, up until five minutes in then the tunnel opened up into a large cavern which housed equipment, crates, stolen 3DMG's and many other goods.

A group of men sat around a table drinking beer and Morgan shot the first one with his crossbow then slung it over his back. He lobbed the lantern at another man before they could react and unfortunately for him, he had been drinking brandy, his glass smashed over him and he went up in flames as the alcohol ignited.

The slavers panicked and scrambled up from their chairs, one drew a flintlock pistol and fired at Morgan but the musket bounced off his armor and only left a dent. Morgan then caved the man's skull in with his hammer. Another man ran at him with a sword which belonged to a 3DMG, he struck Morgan on the shoulder and the blade snapped in half since it was designed to slay titans and not men in armor.

"You guys are always so dull, I don't have armor at the thighs or the middle of my arms yet you always go for the body or the head" Morgan tutted and shook his head then smashed the man in the ribs, of which many snapped and he fell against the table. The man who was on fire finally stopped screaming and died.

"Please stop, have mercy!" The last man crawled back against the cavern wall, he was not very original with his choice of words.

"Well naturally, I need someone to talk to" Morgan said then sat down cross-legged in front of the terrified slaver and raised his visor "Have you seen this girl? She was taken as a slave three months ago" Morgan held a detailed drawing of Quinn Mason to him, the one used on the 'missing' posters.

"N-no I have not" The man stuttered and backed away further.

Morgan grabbed him by the throat and held the top spike of his hammer very close to the man's eye.

"No, please I haven't... she doesn't... I haven't seen her, there's no girl like that here!" The man said in terror.

"Have you ever sold a girl like her then?" Morgan said and let go of the man and lowered his hammer.

"Maybe, possibly" the man said and tried to think "They all look the same to me".

"Are there any here right now?"

"N-no, we were going to get a delivery but it never came, we don't keep them here long" The man explained.

"That's because I freed them about two hours ago and killed your boss" Morgan said and stood up.

"Y-you're not going to kill me?" The man said and let out an anxious breath.

"Not directly" Morgan said and picked a logbook up off the ground which had been dropped when Morgan attacked. He left the cavern behind and returned to the entrance of the mine shaft, he had taken another lantern to find his way back.

"I give him a few days" Morgan said as he placed a blasting cap on the wooden frame of the mine and secured it with string. He walked back out on to the path then loaded another crossbow bolt and aimed. He released the bolt with a 'thunk' sound and it struck the detonator of the explosive, the entrance caved in with a blast and the rubble blocked the way out completely.

Morgan untied Bellerophon and remounted then galloped away into the distance.

[#]

 **Survey Corps HQ.**

"He's back" Levi informed Hange Zoe before walking off with a broody look on his face. Hange looked up from her book and left the officer's lounge.

Morgan trudged up to the gates of the castle and opened them then proceeded through to his room, he didn't speak nor look at anyone despite being absent for longer than he had intended. He took his helmet off then threw it against a wall then collapsed onto his bed.

"I'm sorry, Morgan" Hange said from the open door that he had neglected to shut.

"Don't be, I failed" Morgan mumbled into his pillow.

Hange came in and closed the door than crossed the room to sit on the side of the bed. She placed her hand on his cold steel shoulder.

"She'd be glad that you tried your best, it's not everyday one man takes on a whole slaver organization and beats them" Hange said.

"And now that I've beaten them, there's nowhere else that Quinn could be, at least where I can reach her, look at page seven of their logbook" Morgan mumbled and took an old leather bound book from his belt pouch, his armor clunked as he did so "She could be anywhere, no trace left, not even their boss knew".

"Female, seventeen, long brown hair and brown eyes, average build, sold for 20 gold 2 silvers" Hange read from the logbook and fell silent "I'm sorry".

Hange got up from the bed and went to the door "If you need me, I'll be in my office".

[#]

Later that day, Morgan sat at a table in the officer's lounge and drank rum from his hipflask, he had taken his armor off a while ago.

"I'm joining you, so I won't ask if you mind".

Morgan looked up to see Captain Levi take a seat across the table from him, Levi reached over and took the hipflask then filled a glass with the spirit, which was a true luxury within the walls especially considering the recent fall of Wall Maria.

"So you know what I'm thinking then?" Morgan asked and sipped his rum.

"More than you could ever hope to know yourself" Levi replied and did the same.

Morgan thought for a moment "So it's happened to you before, hasn't it?"

"Something like that, everyone here has lost people they care about but never in the way you lost her" Levi said, he was strangely comforting which was totally bizarre "Being sold as a slave is perhaps worse than death, especially when you lose your dignity along with it".

Morgan winced at the thought of what might happen to Quinn "So Hange told you?" He asked then took another swig of rum.

"Hange tells me everything" Levi replied and swirled his drink around in the glass "I've never been a drinker, this is oddly enjoyable, what about you?"

Morgan lit a tobacco pipe then opened the window beside him "On occasion" He replied, this was the first time Morgan had ever smoked, now that he was 18 it was more accessible.

Levi observed him while taking another sip "Got one for me?"

Morgan rummaged around in his pocket then took out a packet of cigarettes and matches then slid them across to Levi "I bought a few different kinds of things to smoke".

Levi lit a cigarette and inhaled "I'm going to have to clean myself thoroughly after this".

"I know, smoking's terrible isn't it?" Morgan chuckled but took another puff regardless, he had earned it and he suspected that Levi had too although he didn't know why, all he knew was that Levi had been in the Survey Corps for over a year now and something had happened to him.

"Just don't tell Erwin" Levi said.

"Tell me what?" Erwin walked in on them and looked around at what they were doing, very few people were on one to one grounds with Levi and Morgan was not one of them. Levi put his feet up on the table and leaned back.

"Well then, I suppose if everyone's doing it..." Erwin said and took out a box of cigars from a cabinet. Both Morgan and Levi gave him the strangest of looks, Levi less so.

Erwin sat down and lit his cigar, he was the Commander so could afford the best.

"I did not see that coming" Morgan exclaimed then poured Erwin a glass of rum.

"Well, I heard about what happened" Erwin said "We're humans after all, we can take a break from being soldiers for a day" It was getting dark outside and the cool evening breeze carried the smoke away.

"I'd drink to that, if I had any left" Levi said and gestured to the hipflask, Morgan got the hint and poured out some more.

Erwin took a pack of playing cards from his pocket just as Hange walked in with Captain Wilhelm Adler and Mike Zacharius "I thought I smelt smoke..." Mike said.

"What the hell?!" Hange exclaimed at the most bizarre situation before her, Wilhelm smirked.

"Take a seat, we were just about to deal" Erwin said and gestured to the forth, fifth and sixth chair around the circular table. Hange took a moment then turned and closed the door, she walked up and sat down with the other officers. Morgan offered her a glass.

"No thanks, I don't drink" Hange said and looked at the box of cigarettes, Levi was on his second. He did not look it, but he was enjoying himself and Hange knew it. Wilhelm pulled up a chair and sat down then Mike did the same "May I?"

"Sure" Morgan said and pushed the box of cigarettes towards him.

"Alright, who's dealing?" Erwin asked and cut the cards.

[#]

"You said you didn't drink" Morgan said as he and Levi carried Hange back to her room, It was past midnight. Morgan and Levi both had the greatest alcohol tolerance so were tasked with handling Hange. They let Hange down and she stumbled against the door then turned to Morgan. Levi had unsurprisingly won the game of cards.

"Just be careful alright, we don't want..." Morgan was stopped midsentence as Hange kissed him smack on the lips, Levi looked then rolled his eyes.

Morgan went bright red and pushed her away "Ok, good night" He said and shunted Hange into her room.

"Wait I..." Hange began but Levi slammed the door on her.

"Well that was a surprise" Levi said and walked off down the corridor, Morgan regained his composure and followed after him.


	8. Attack on Fate

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 8**

(This chapter includes many spoilers, also I just advanced the story past the time skip but it's been 7 chapters since AoT episode 1 so, yeah, episode 3+ from now on woohoo! 10 chapters later and we're on episode 4 at this pace, I'll stop talking now)

 **Trost District, the year 850, 5 years after the fall of Wall Maria.**

Florence Bellerose wandered around the outside of the wall that encircled Trost district despite the obvious threat of titans, something felt off to her, she just knew it, someone else was here to do her job but she didn't know who.

It had been four and a half years since she had last transformed to save that fool of a girl Quinn, of whom was a Lance Corporal in the Wall Garrison now, god knows how. Florence had joined the Military Police in Stohess two years ago after their graduation but she was here in Trost after getting some strange calling, like some sixth sense. She looked up at the wall behind her as someone dropped from above.

"I thought I felt another's presence" The blonde girl said as she landed in a crouch, the 3DMG cables retracted.

"And you are?" Florence asked with a frown.

"Annie, and you?" Annie, a trainee from the 104th asked.

"Florence Bellerose, what are you doing out here?" Florence asked.

"I could ask you the same question" Annie said.

"The Survey Corps left this morning, didn't they?" Florence asked.

"Yes, what of it?" Annie answered with a question of her own.

"Perfect timing" Florence grinned and turned to the wall.

"For what?"

"You'll see" Florence said and raised her hand to her mouth.

Before she could bite, an explosion shook the ground and Florence looked up to see the Colossal Titan looming over the main gate of Trost.

"The hell you doing!?" Florence screamed at the massive red titan before her but it ignored her and kicked the gate in "You bastard, I was here first!"

Annie turned away from the Colossal Titan, she had seen it happen before "What do you mean?"

Florence cursed under her breath and bit her hand, she was enveloped in light then red steam began to flow out from the rapidly growing titan form. Annie took a step back "The Crimson Steam Titan" She gasped out of character.

 _She's going to attack the Colossal Titan!_

Annie instinctively bit her own hand and transformed, the attack of the Colossal Titan and the wall would hide the coming battle of titans.

The Female Titan stood before the Crimson Steam Titan, the latter hissed with venting steam and it covered itself in its crimson cloud then rapidly began to spin it around her body, electricity began to generate and a blast of lightning struck Annie in the face.

The Female Titan stumbled backwards "What are you?" She asked through her titan form, her voice was unlike her normal tone and it was deep and guttural by comparison.

The Crimson Steam Titan rose higher and reared up, the nails on its disproportionate hands grew longer and she laughed with a high pitched and warped voice.

"I could ask the same to you" Florence replied and charged at Annie as she propelled herself forward via the blasting red steam.

[#]

 **Just outside Trost District, 30 minutes earlier.**

"I thought the day would never come" Morgan said as he and Bellerophon made their way to the district of Trost. Captain Wilhelm Adler was with him for he had decided that he too would like to join the Wall Garrison for a change of scenery, much to Erwin's annoyance.

"How long have you been away then?" Wilhelm asked as he trotted along the road on his own horse.

"Almost six years, six years since I left the garrison but now I'm back, Commander Pixis knows I'm returning" Morgan said, he was 22 years old now but barely looked any different from when he was a teenager, he grew by one centimeter though then stopped. His armor clunked with every step of his horse on the dirt path.

Morgan and Wilhelm had travelled part of the way alongside the Survey Corps as they had an expedition to go on that morning but they had split off since Morgan was in no hurry but Erwin was. Hange Zoe was in tears because Morgan had finally left the Survey Corps after his contract had ended but he assured her that he would come to see her from time to time when he wasn't busy back in the Wall Garrison, the place where he belonged.

"Quinn would be 21 years old now" Morgan said then sighed.

"You say it like she's dead" Wilhelm replied.

"She might as well be, she died long ago to me" Morgan said as cheerfully as possible but felt the opposite. The gates of Trost opened for them and they entered the city.

"Don't think about it, there's nothing you can do now" Wilhelm advised.

"Yeah, I guess I'll try" Morgan replied.

[#]

Lance Corporal Quinn Mason stood upon the great wall that divided humans from titans, the new recruits from the 104th were busy tending to the fixed cannon emplacements. She had been in the Wall Garrison for two years now and her heart had broken when she found out that Morgan St Clare had not returned, three years of brutal training had gone by and it was the only thing pushing her through, apart from Florence and her insults. Quinn gave up on him then and there, he had lied to her, he had not rejoined the guard as he had intended and that lie had changed her life forever.

 _Perhaps I should have stayed in Stohess, but he told me to come with him._

Quinn remembered what he had told her, about fighting and realized again that her being here was not pointless nor a waste of time, she would do it without him. She turned around and looked at the city before her and the clock tower bell rung.

"Oh, it's lunch time" Quinn said. At least it was for the officers although she was the lowest rank of officer possible "You guys keep up the good work, Eren, you're in charge" Quinn leaped off the wall and down to the ground, assisted by her 3DMG. Eren Jaeger nodded to her then returned to work.

"It's been a quiet day today" Quinn said to herself.

Ten minutes later, she had reached the center of the city, she was almost at the Garrison barracks. "I wonder what we're having for..." Quinn was cast in shadow and she turned around suddenly to see the Colossal Titan once again look over the wall, a heartbeat passed and the gate was erased.

"N-no, not today" Quinn whimpered and leaned back against a lamp post. Civilians panicked around her and ran to the outer gate in droves.

"You there, Lance Corporal, get to the barracks and prepare your squad, then enact the Colossal Titan contingency plan!" An armored Lieutenant quickly said as he rode past like a thunderbolt, Quinn did not think twice nor look at him, she merely acted.

"Yes sir!" Quinn replied and sped off towards the barracks after regaining her courage, oblivious to the trademark armor of Lieutenant Morgan St Clare.

Twenty minutes later and she was in an officers briefing about the counter attack, Quinn couldn't help but worry for the squad of recruits she had left on the wall.

Florence Bellerose ran in with a crash as she hit the table, she was bloodied and bruised.

"What the hell, Corporal?!" The Major in charge exclaimed at the head of the table, he was tall and bald with a thick beard.

"I'm here sir, I... I got in a fight with a titan, they're advancing on the city as we speak" Florence gasped and braced herself on the table, she glanced up at a shocked Quinn Mason.

"What? How far?" The Major gasped.

"The area around the gate is overwhelmed, the recruit team that were on cannon maintenance duty escaped alive but the Colossal Titan disappeared" Florence informed him but breathed heavily, she had beaten the crap out of the Female Titan but Annie had struck her in the nape with her fist which Florence felt through the titan body and was why she was badly injured, both titan shifters had escaped their brutal encounter and Annie had gone elsewhere. The feeling of guilt left Quinn at the sound of the good news.

"Alright, all team leaders the mission is a go, defend the city with your lives!" The Major ordered and the officers around him cheered.

"Lance Corporal Quinn Taylor, our new friend here, Captain Wilhelm Adler from the Survey Corps will be serving with you in your squad today, I understand you have a lot to learn so if you need assistance please consult him" The Major said as the other officers left the room. Wilhelm stood in the corner and the wings of freedom were borne upon his jacket.

[#]

 **Trost, 20 minutes previously.**

"Morgan?" Wilhelm asked as they trotted through the city of Trost.

"Yes?" Morgan replied.

"Look up".

Morgan looked up to see the Colossal Titan.

"Oh" Morgan said then stopped his horse, Wilhelm did the same. He turned back to his friend and dropped the visor of his helmet down with a 'clunk'.

A moment passed but they both knew what the other was thinking.

 _Oh crap._

"Get to the barracks and inform the Garrison Leaders, we're going to have to postpone the welcome home party" Morgan said and rode off to the center of the city.

"Got it!" Captain Wilhelm Adler said and whipped the reigns of his horse, he charged off in the direction of the barracks.

[#]

 **During the Battle of Trost.**

"You know, a friend of mine had a dear friend called Quinn once upon a time, funny that you share her name" Wilhelm Adler told Quinn Taylor as they were stood upon the rooftops at the center of the city, they were waiting for the order to repel the titans. Much to their ignorance, the vanguard had already been destroyed.

Florence Bellerose was with them after miraculously recovering from her injuries. Not all Lance Corporals were squad leaders but Quinn was chosen as they required a few more soldiers with experience to lead the pre-organized squads, most teams were led by a Corporal but they were lacking.

"What happened to her?" Quinn asked obliviously. She watched the current fighting, further towards the front of the offensive.

"She was taken by slavers, man you should have seen what he went through to try and get her back, real determination that guy has" Wilhelm said and scratched the stubble on his chin.

"What did he do?" Quinn asked and looked up at him, Quinn was not a common name but nothing clicked in her mind.

"Killed 37 slavers and raided four of their bases by himself, but he didn't find her so after three months he gave up since there was nothing he could do" Wilhelm said and whistled in admiration as a titan was knocked head first into a church far in the distance. Quinn was a nervous wreck so was barely listening, Wilhelm and Florence were as cool as ice. The other three members of the squad were in the same position as Quinn but they had come fresh out of the 104th so were even worse off. Wilhelm was ranked as Humanities 17th strongest soldier out of tens of thousands so it comforted Quinn to know he was there, it also meant that somewhere, there were 16 even bigger bad-asses out there killing titans.

"What's your friend's name?" Florence asked, knowing full well who it was for she had met him before.

"Morgan, wait I remember you, you're that red head we picked up five years ago on the 21st expedition" Wilhelm said and looked Florence up and down "So you decided to join the MP huh? What are you doing in Trost?"

"Oh, just got caught up in all this I guess" Florence replied.

"Fair enough" Wilhelm said "Oh, there he is" He pointed to the street below them, a man in armor raced by on his horse towards the titans advancing from the south, he didn't appear to need a team since his titan combat method was very different. In reality, he was there to support the main combat teams by incapacitating titans for them to kill and to slow the titan's advance along with being a field commander.

This got Quinn's attention and she ran up to the ledge of the roof to get a better look "Wilhelm?" Quinn asked, her voice was shaking.

"Yeah?"

"What was his name again?"

"Morgan, Lieutenant Morgan St Clare".


	9. Attack on Righteous

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 9**

 **4 1/2 years ago, Stohess District.**

Morgan St Clare, Baron Mason and Baroness Mason sat around a table within the fort at the center of Stohess.

"So she wasn't there?" The Baron asked and looked down at the table.

"No, but I've got information leading to three other potential places where she may be, the first base was just a slave holding area so I couldn't find the boss, I freed the others though" Morgan said and took his helmet off, he noticed that someone's blood was dripping off his pauldron so grabbed a cloth to clean it.

The Baroness sobbed quietly and Baron Mason comforted her.

"Ma'am, may I ask, what was the parcel you had me deliver before the attack on Shiganshina?" Morgan asked.

The Baroness looked up and then to her husband.

"It was something that Dr Jaeger had been working on, it was a serum for Quinn to help cure the nasty cough she had at the time" Baron Mason explained "We returned what we didn't need since it was needed to produce more medicine".

"Right, thank you" Morgan said then stood up to leave, he would find the second slaver base in three days time. He left the fort and got back on his horse, then he would travel to the Survey Corps HQ to stay the night for the next target was nearby.

 _Strange, Quinn never had a cough nor was she ill._

[#]

 **Present day, the Battle of Trost.**

Quinn ran along the roof tops to keep up with Morgan, she fired a cable into a church and swung to the next street as the Lieutenant turned a corner, a 10m class titan plodded along and Morgan blew its left leg off at the shin with a swing from his hammer. A soldier swung in and sliced the nape to kill it as it stumbled, the man's team then crossed in front of Quinn and sped off to the west of the city.

"Get back here Lance Corporal!" Captain Wilhelm Adler bellowed "We haven't been given the order to attack!"

"She's the team leader though" Florence said.

"I can overrule her if need be" Wilhelm said and shook his head "Alright I'm taking over, team, after her!"

The squad of soldiers sped through the air on their 3DMGs after Quinn who was transfixed on the metal man galloping beneath her.

 _Impossible, impossible impossible impossible, why now? After more than four years._

Morgan rode up beneath a team that were atop a building and shouted orders up to them from the street below before turning away at the sound of a family trapped in their house, a titan's corpse had blocked them in. He dismounted then jogged up to the door of their home. The squad that were on top of the house ran off to the destination that he had ordered them to.

Quinn landed on the street and retracted her grappling cables "Morgan!" She gasped and ran closer.

Morgan turned to look at her just as a 15m class titan turned the corner and saw him. Morgan stopped and froze, he was transfixed on Quinn. He was trying to understand what he was seeing.

"Morgan it's me, it's Quinn!" Quinn said excitedly and ran closer, then the titan grabbed Morgan suddenly. Quinn screamed but Morgan's gaze remained on her and he didn't struggle.

 _How?_

Bellerophon the horse ran off in terror and Quinn panicked "No, no stop!" She screamed.

It swallowed Morgan whole.

Quinn fell to her knees.

The titan looked at Quinn and stomped towards her.

 _No._

[#]

"You're supposed to be gone, erased, you disappeared" Morgan whispered under his helmet as the hot red liquid of the Titan's stomach churned and broiled around him. Many soldier's corpses were floating in the gory mess.

"Why now?"

Morgan turned and stood up, the stomach tilted slightly but he remained standing.

 _Eat her too, I don't want her to be real, so eat her and be done with it._

"NO!" Morgan roared and lashed out, he swung his hammer at the stomach's wall, outside the titan's gut blew open and it staggered.

"W-what?" Quinn gasped as the titan dropped her, she hit the road hard.

Another explosion ripped through the titan and it fell into the side of a building, Morgan was blasting his way out.

"Morgan!" Quinn exclaimed and stood up "I knew you'd do it!"

Captain Wilhelm Adler swooped in and sliced the nape of the titan to kill it, it then fell and crashed into the building. Wilhelm landed next to Quinn and the squad arrived as well.

"You are in deep shit, Lance Corporal" Wilhelm swore in anger.

The corpse of the titan began to steam and a figure stumbled out, Morgan was drenched in blood. He regained his composure and walked up to Wilhelm as if nothing had happened, as if getting swallowed by a titan then escaping was a common occurrence to him.

"Send her home, execute her, leave her in a jail cell, I don't care which, just be done with her" Morgan said solemnly and passed them.

"Morgan, what do you mean?" Wilhelm asked, Quinn stood there and stared.

"Oh no" Wilhelm gasped then looked at Quinn, Quinn was on the verge of tears "You're not... are you?"

"L-lance Corporal, Quinn Taylor, also known as Quinn Mason, daughter of Baron Mason, sir" Quinn whimpered. Something burned inside her that was fueled by sorrow, made her want to lash out and destroy everything, she didn't know what but Morgan's reaction, or lack of one, was enough to ignite it.

Wilhelm was taken aback by this and stared wide eyed "Impossible".

Morgan was about fifteen feet away from them down the street "Don't worry, ghosts can't hurt you".

[#]

Commander Pixis stood upon the wall of Trost district, the city had been overrun by titans but a new hope had arisen, Eren Jaeger, a trainee of the 104th who could transform into a titan. Pixis addressed the assembled soldiers bellow him.

"Get up, soldier" A superior officer shouted at Quinn, she was sat cross-legged on the ground and stared dead ahead with complete obliviousness. In front of her, Lieutenant Morgan St Clare was cleaning his armor next to a supply wagon, he had changed clothes and so was no longer blood soaked. Quinn observed everything he did, he knew that she was watching him but he ignored it.

Quinn was not even interested in the fact that a human had become a titan, the soldiers around her panicked and some began to cry.

"I said get up!" The officer repeated and kicked Quinn in the chest. The air was knocked out of her and she fell sideways with a gasp but still she did not move. The man stamped on her leg but still it did not get her attention, she was too transfixed on her friend who was treating her like she didn't even exist.

 _You should be happy._

Morgan saw from the corner of his eye at what the officer was doing but also ignored Quinn's pain.

The man grabbed her by the throat "Are you refusing to fight, is that it?"

Quinn still did not say anything.

"Desertion is punishable by execution!" The officer roared in her face then punched her, he was becoming infuriated by her lack of attention so he drew his sword.

This got _Morgan's_ attention.

Morgan's sallet helm struck the back of the officer's head with a crack and he fell forwards with a scream of pain. Quinn snapped out of her illusion to see Morgan grab the officer by the throat and punch his face in with his metal gauntlets. Over and over he beat him till Morgan dropped the bloodied man and stamped on his chest. He turned away from the man to see the soldiers around him staring in shock, Commander Pixis glanced his way but returned to organizing the next offensive with his majors, the commander was uninterested in such petty affairs.

The officer gasped for breath and crawled away.

"Morgan, I..." Quinn said and reached out but Morgan swatted her hand away.

"Do not address an officer like that" Morgan said and turned away.

"Morgan, stop..." Quinn stood up and rubbed her arm from where she was struck.

"Get in line, soldier" Morgan said gravely and put his helmet back on.

"Morgan I...".

"SHUT UP!" Morgan roared from under his helmet, he had put it on to hide his emotion.

Quinn stopped.

"Tell me, what's it like to kill a man?" Morgan asked out of context, the soldiers around him were dumbstruck.

"W-what? I never..." Quinn began but then remembered the slaver that she had stabbed "H-he died?" Her heart felt like it would snap, a sudden pang of overwhelming horror and guilt flowed over her.

"Horrible" Quinn whispered.

"It is, now tell me Quinn, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO KILL THIRTY SEVEN?" Morgan screamed at her but was muffled slightly under the helmet. Quinn had no idea what his face was showing.

"No human kills another human, not here, not now, those things beyond the wall? They do that, not us" Morgan said and gestured to the wall "Lying about your name to join the military is punishable by death".

"Morgan I'm sorry, I... you told me to" Quinn said and stepped closer.

"Do you think that I would really ask you? Quinn Mason, the biggest pansy-ass girl I know; who screams when a spider crawls into her bed and she has to get me to get rid of it, could ever compete in the military yet alone fight titans?! You must be insane" Morgan exclaimed, his tone changing with every word.

"Y-you lied to me?" Quinn stuttered.

"No, I never lied, you just took a joke too far, I never intended for you to join the garrison" Morgan said with venom in his words. The crowd around them was still watching instead of preparing to engage the titans in Trost.

"I killed people to find you, a stupid mistake you made sent me on a mission that would change my life for the worse, I thought you were gone, taken as a slave for some sick fat-cat merchant, I almost got eaten because you came back!"

"But I'm not, I'm... I'm here now, I became a soldier and I can fight the titans, just like you said, we all must fight in this world one way or another" Quinn suddenly got the strength to stand up to her furious friend "Whatever happened is gone, but I'm here now, everything you did is in the distant past and you never have to do it again".

Morgan had calmed down and observed Quinn quietly "I... I ordered for you to be _executed_... just so that I would never have to face you" Morgan whispered and stared at the ground then raised the visor of his helmet.

"I have never been so wrong in my life" Morgan exclaimed in a way that Quinn had never heard before, something of true sorrow and regret. Morgan grasped her in a hug then kissed her on the lips. Quinn's heart raced and she kissed him back. The soldiers around them cheered and whistled.

Morgan let Quinn go and held her at arms length "I'm sorry".

"I'm sorry, too" Quinn said and wiped away a tear.


	10. Attack on Deception

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 10**

 **The Battle of Trost, part two.**

"ATTENTION!" Commander Pixis bellowed to the soldiers below him, Morgan and Quinn looked up to hear the plan of action.

"All teams; you shall defend Eren Jaeger with your lives, he shall pick up the giant boulder and carry it to the gate of Trost, there he will use it to block the hole in the wall. He is our only hope for defeating the titans, when we win, and we shall, this will be the first victory against the titans!" Pixis explained and the soldiers below him saluted in unison.

Quinn turned to Morgan "Ready?"

"I was ready first" Morgan replied then turned to his horse and mounted it "Go back to your squad, I'll explain everything that just happened to the Commander so you're not in trouble, I'll make sure of it, in the meantime apologize to Wilhelm but he's in command of your team, alright".

"Yes sir!" Quinn saluted with a smile.

"Good, we'll work together but since you're faster than me, stay close".

[#]

Morgan galloped into the titan infested city with Quinn, Wilhelm, Florence and the rest of the squad behind him jumping from building to building.

A titan plodded towards them just as a blinding light in the center of the city illuminated the sky, Eren Jaeger had just transformed into a titan. Morgan took his crossbow and shot the titan in the left eye to get it's attention, the titan grumbled at the loss of its eye, which wouldn't heal now that something was stuck in it's retina.

Morgan rode past it as it clawed at its face to find the tiny bolt and he swung his hammer and blasted its ankle to bits, the titan stumbled forwards just as Wilhelm, Quinn and Florence swung by and struck it once each to down it.

The team carried on forwards to keep up with Eren Jaeger who was about 300m from the right of them, they were on the left side of the city. Cannon shells sounded in the distance as the wall teams shot titans to bits.

"Titan, 15m class approaching" Wilhelm shouted, Morgan turned the corner of the street and weaved out of its way for they had an aerial view of the battle and he did not, the titan missed him but he had also missed _it_. Without warning, he would have run straight into the giant.

Morgan doubled back and the squad dismantled the titan with ease but Florence was missing.

The team met together on the cleared street and Morgan trotted up to them "Where's Florence?"

"No idea, she was behind us and then she disappeared" Quinn said and scratched her head. In the distance, Eren Jaeger was having trouble controlling himself.

"Woah, titan squad incoming!" A recruit announced as seven 3-4m class titans ran towards them.

"Take them out!" Wilhelm ordered, Morgan charged towards them and shot the first in the eyes to blind it with his crossbow. He then slung it over his back and drew his hammer, he rode past the struggling titan and swung backwards to strike the nape. At only 3m tall, he could reach the back of it's neck and more than just the nape was destroyed.

The squad charged in and sliced up three of the diminutive titans but the fifth grabbed a recruit then bit her leg off and she screamed in agony.

Quinn swung in and slice it to death, it then dropped the recruit but she had fainted from blood loss.

"Secure the area!" Morgan ordered and trotted around "Get her on my horse".

"But she'll slow you down!" Wilhelm argued as he bandaged the stump of the girl's leg to try and stop the bleeding.

"I won't be riding. You there, recruit" Morgan pointed to another recruit, a blonde girl "Take this soldier back to the base then return to our position".

"Yes sir!" The recruit said then mounted Bellerophon with her wounded comrade. She whipped the reigns and rode off towards the HQ.

"But you need your horse!" Quinn said.

"I'll make do, look, I made an upgrade for my armor" Morgan said then held up his left wrist, a grappling wire and spike, much like that of a 3DMG was mounted in its casing on his wrist and a small hidden pipe; under his armor but exposed at the middle of the arm, led to his twin gas canisters that also fueled his gas ejection nozzles located at his ankles.

"It's short ranged and slower than a 3DMG's two grapples but it will allow me to have a bit more maneuverability, watch" Morgan explained then fired the cable into the balcony of a building beside him via a click of the hammer's second trigger that Quinn had just noticed, it hadn't been there five years ago. A second click and his jump assist blasted gas out from the nozzles at his ankles and he rose up onto the balcony as the wire reeled in.

"See, I'll fight up here till my horse returns" Morgan said then climbed onto the rooftops.

"He's always full of surprises" Wilhelm remarked.

"Mmh, that's Morgan for you" Quinn smiled and the rest of the team jumped up onto the rooftop to meet the Lieutenant.

"That armor must be bloody heavy now, what with a crossbow as well" Wilhelm said as they stood atop the house.

"You don't know the half of it, it's the reason why this grapple is slow, I can't do anything fancy with it unlike your 3DMG's" Morgan said and ran off to the end of the building when he heard more titan footsteps.

"Onward" Wilhelm shouted and the squad, or what was left of the squad charged on.

"Ten meter class, dead ahead!" Morgan announced and shot it in the face with his crossbow to get its attention although he was too far away to blind it.

The titan climbed up onto the building and crawled towards him, Morgan ran straight at it as it slowly tried to grab him but he smashed it on the nose and its face fragmented into bloody chunks. The titan turned and rolled off the building then Wilhelm sliced its neck in mid air as it fell.

"Damn we're good" Wilhelm chuckled.

Quinn and the other recruit landed beside Morgan with a clatter "Look, red smoke signal!"

"Wait, we weren't issued red signals in the attack teams" Wilhelm said in confusion.

"Huh?" Quinn exclaimed.

"Oh crap, why here?" Wilhelm swore and landed.

"Look, two blocks down" Morgan pointed.

The Crimson Steam titan had emerged from blinding light and began generating is cloud of red steam.

"It's going after Jaeger, notify the other teams and bring it down!" Wilhelm ordered and the squad advanced on it.

"Lieutenant, I'm back!" The recruit who had taken the wounded soldier back to base shouted up to Morgan.

"Good work, soldier" Morgan said then leaped off the building and slowed his decent with a burst of gas.

The recruit handed the reigns of Bellerophon back to Morgan and he remounted his steed. "I need you to do another favor for me, get to the teams upon the walls and order them to fire upon the Crimson Steam Titan, you can't miss it since it comes with its own smoke signal".

"Yes sir" The recruit replied then flew away on her 3DMG towards the walls.

Morgan trotted o where Wilhelm, Quinn and the other soldier were "We need to keep it away from Eren Jaeger, It's going to kill him!"

"Got it" Quinn nodded and Wilhelm followed her lead. Morgan split off and galloped after the steam titan while those on 3DMG took to the air.

They passed a block of buildings and met the Crimson Steam Titan who was powering up its cloud to advance on Jaeger as he carried the giant boulder. Morgan rode as close as he could, although he realized that it could control the intensity of the heat it gave off, it hadn't noticed him so wasn't actively trying to scold him. He rode past it and kept thirty feet ahead then turned back with his crossbow in hand and shot a bolt into its ominous glowing eyes, the left one suddenly went out and it screeched.

"You sound like a girl, huh, a female titan then" Morgan said to himself then realized that it was super pissed off with him. He galloped even faster ahead to avoid its fist and Wilhelm and Quinn flew side by side with it along the street, it turned both ways to see them but blasted forwards on an even greater gout of steam.

"It's getting closer!" Wilhelm shouted.

A purple smoke signal went up from the wall and Morgan saw it from the corner of his eye "Target confirmed, all units away from the titan!" Morgan shouted out and turned a sharp corner into an alley way but the Crimson Steam Titan carried on forwards. Quinn, Wilhelm and the recruit broke away from their chase and landed on the safety of a building nearby.

The audible whine of cannon shells filled the air as dozens of heavy explosive rounds shot towards it, the Crimson Steam Titan stopped suddenly about 200m away from Eren Jaeger.

All the shells hit and the Crimson Steam Titan was engulfed in flame as it's own red vapor was mixed with the orange of ignition. The titan was blasted to bits in an instant and it's death screech echoed throughout the city but was then overcome by the roar of Humanity brought upon by Eren Jaeger as he threw the boulder into the ruined gate.

"Target destroyed, I repeat, target destroyed!" Wilhelm announced and Quinn and the recruit cheered. Morgan trotted to the main rode to see the Survey Corps ride in to clear the area of titans and Hange was with them.

[#]

Florence Bellerose stumbled through the streets, she was burnt and wounded but the diamond hard prison she formed out of her titan's body had saved her life.

"Damnit, damnit damnit damnit!" Florence cursed and punched a brick wall. The sound of cannon fire could be heard as the wall teams cleared out the city.

"Florence!" Wilhelm called out and dropped from the roof tops "Where have you been? The gate's been sealed".

"I-I got swiped by a titan and you missed it on the fly-by, I'm alright though" Florence gasped.

"Ok, go to HQ and get first aid, can you manage by yourself?" Wilhelm asked.

"Yes I'll be fine".

[#]

Hange Zoe ran up to Morgan and embraced him in a giant hug "How'd it go?" Morgan asked.

"It went ok, but we discovered something" Hange said excitedly "Ilse Langnar's notebook, we found it in the forest, but guess what?"

Morgan observed the notebook "What?"

"Titans can talk!" Hange exclaimed and spun around.

"What?"

"That's right, at least the one we met could to a degree, I'll let you have a look at it before we leave Trost" Hange said and replaced the notebook to her pocket. Levi stood off to the right and soldiers were hurrying about the blocked gate. Trost had been cleared of titans "Oh and we caught two titans".

Morgan removed his helmet "What?"

"You heard, we got 'em" Hange beamed.

"That's great, and you didn't need my help!" Morgan joked.

"Hey, I can handle things on my own sometimes" Hange said as Quinn ran up to them.

"We killed the Crimson Steam Titan by the way" Morgan said.

"What?" Hange gasped.

"Yeah, we destroyed it with HE shells since that was the only solution since we can't get close to it, we think it was working with the Colossal Titan but we don't know why the Armored Titan didn't show up, maybe she replaced it this time" Morgan explained.

"Yo Morgan, who's this?" Quinn asked innocently.

Morgan froze suddenly then turned to Quinn "Oh, um..."

"Who are you?" Hange asked.

"I'm his girlfrie..." Quinn began.

"Woah woah, hold on there" Morgan said and covered her mouth "When did this happen?"

"When you kissed me, remember?"

"It wasn't quite like that, you're not my girlfriend" Morgan said.

"Oh" Quinn saddened a little "I see".

"Girlfriend, huh?" Hange said and narrowed her eyes.

"Hey don't look at me like that!" Quinn shouted at the Captain.

"Quinn, this is Captain Hange Zoe" Morgan said and gestured to Hange.

"Oh" Quinn said quietly "Sorry, Ma'am".

"Just be careful runt" Hange snapped and turned away.

"What did you call me?" Quinn said as her anger flared.

Morgan face-palmed "Quinn, stop already".

"Quinn?" Hange said and turned back "That's not... is it?"

"Yes, it's a long story but in short she joined the Wall Garrison which is where she disappeared to" Morgan explained.

[#]

"Ok listen up, Lance Corporal, the Lieutenant went through hell and back again because you made a stupid mistake, don't think he actually wants you anymore even if you're back, he told me that you died long ago to him, he only kissed you in apology and relief rather than love, got it?" Hange berated Quinn while they stood in the halls of the barracks at the center of Trost, she was no longer her normal buoyant and cheerful self but Quinn didn't know her true nature.

"W-what do you mean? Don't talk to me like that!" Quinn said as her anger flared again.

"Leave him alone" Hange snapped and started to walk off in complete contrast to how she normally would treat others.

"Oh, I get it" Quinn smirked "You're jealous?"

Hange's expression wavered for a moment, like guilt but then returned to a frown and walked away, she was more like captain Levi today than herself, at least to Quinn.

[#]

Morgan sat at a table within the barracks, Eren Jaeger was being kept in the dungeons to contain his power but most soldiers were too scared to even come close to the fort.

Quinn walked up and opened her mouth to speak but Morgan spoke first "I know what you're going to say, but I want to be left alone for a while, alright? I need to think".

Quinn sat down next to him "It's ok, I understand, just come find me when you're ready to talk, ok?"

Morgan nodded "Ok".

Quinn smiled then got up again.

"Oh, we're going to be cleaning up the walls later and making some repairs, Hange and the Survey Corps will be leaving tomorrow and they're taking Jaeger to the military court and I'm to attend with Dot Pixis, I'm afraid you're not high up enough to come" Morgan said.

"Will Hange be there?" Quinn asked.

"Yes".

Quinn frowned then sighed "Alright, whatever" She readjusted her jacket then walked off.

"I heard you talking to Hange earlier, sorry about that, this is the first time I've seen her act like that, she's a wonderful person really" Morgan said.

"Hmmph" Quinn thought for a moment then left the room behind her.

(A new cover art has been uploaded as of today, the image is rather small though due to limitations so you won't be able to see much detail, also i forgot the gas nozzles at Morgan's feet but oh well)


	11. Attack on Despair

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 11.**

 _The chapter release schedule shall be every three days from now on however this chapter has been fast tracked due to demand._

* * *

"Did you really have to beat the crap out of him?" Hange asked as they walked down the corridor of the military court.

"Yes" Levi replied simply with cold demeanor.

"Surely there could have been a better way to..." Morgan began.

"No".

"I hope he regenerates like all titans do" Hange said.

"Indeed".

"I think it's pretty cool that he can turn into a titan" Morgan added.

"I suppose".

"You're being extra Levi-like today, Levi" Hange said.

"Perhaps".

Morgan rolled his eyes beneath his helmet, Levi was being typical Levi again "Right, I'm off to the Wall Garrison, try not to die while I'm gone".

"When will you next visit?" Hange asked.

"A months time" Morgan replied and they left the court behind them and stepped into the sunshine.

[#]

Morgan and Quinn stood atop the great walls of Trost, the city had been cleared of titans the day before and Hange and the Survey Corps had taken Eren Jaeger and the titans that they had captured back to their HQ. Wilhelm stood nearby and instructed the cannon maintenance teams.

Quinn opened her mouth to speak but Morgan cut her off "I'm still thinking".

"Oh" Quinn looked at him "Ok".

"Hey Morgan, isn't that Florence?" Wilhelm asked and pointed to a small figure galloping on horseback away from the walls.

"Yes, yes it is" Morgan said while he walked closer to the edge "She was going back to Stohess though".

"Well she's on the other side of the wall" Wilhelm said.

"Right... well I don't know what's got into her but we ought to go get her before she gets herself killed" Morgan said.

"You're awfully calm about this" Quinn said.

"I know that" Morgan said then climbed onto the pulley system to return to the foot of the walls "Wilhelm, organize a squad, we're going after her".

[#]

The horses of Morgan's squad were lowered down after being carried over the walls by winches, now that the gate was blocked, there was no way of simply passing through it.

"Alright, our mission is simple; find and retrieve Florence Bellerose, understood?" Wilhelm announced, he was co-leader of this sudden operation, the team consisted of Morgan, Quinn, Wilhelm and seven soldiers, three of them recruits.

The team galloped out into titan held Wall Maria, Florence was perhaps half an hour ahead of them but she was headed south, towards Shiganshina.

"What do you suppose she's up to?" Quinn asked Wilhelm.

"No idea, but she's a bit odd don't you think? What with the crimson hair and her ability to seemingly shrug off any wounds" Wilhelm said and turned to Quinn as they rode side by side.

"Yeah, kind of like Jaeger" Quinn suggested and a pang of doubt was cast over her as she remembered a snippet from the time she and Florence were training on the mountainside together.

"Quinn, what's wrong?" Wilhelm asked.

Quinn stared straight ahead and didn't answer.

"What, you think she's like Jaeger? A titan?" Wilhelm asked "Quinn?"

Quinn looked at Wilhelm and smiled "No don't be silly, it's incredible that two people could be..."

"What is it you remembered just then, Quinn?" Morgan asked from ahead of them.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"You remembered something just now, you trained with Florence, yes?"

"Y-yeah, what about it?" Quinn asked, another pang of doubt struck her as she remembered more of her dream.

"I was talking to Hange Zoe about Eren Jaeger being a titan shifter, she'll be conducting her experiments around now and I have to miss them since I joined the garrison, but we concluded before she left that it's possible that those titans who possess intelligence are actually humans with the same power as Jaeger" Morgan explained.

"W-wait so you're saying..."

"Florence Bellerose is a titan" Wilhelm answered.

Another pang of doubt and then a wave rolled over Quinn as she suddenly remembered her dream, or not so much a dream "Oh god..."

"You remember?" Wilhelm asked.

"Florence Bellerose is the Crimson Steam Titan" Quinn whispered, the whole squad looked her way.

"It's as Hange thought, there's no way that Florence could keep on getting back up from her injuries, why do you think she returned burned and bloodied after the Battle of Trost?" Morgan explained.

"Because we shot her to bits with HE shells" Wilhelm concluded.

"She saved my life by turning into a titan all those years ago but covered it up as a dream when I fainted" Quinn said.

Morgan acknowledged what Quinn had said "You know what's the clincher?"

"What?" Wilhelm and Quinn asked in unison. Morgan turned back to them as they galloped along.

"No one has natural crimson hair, and guess what our favorite titan's favorite color is?"

"Crimson" They answered in unison again.

"Exactly, so Quinn's right, Florence Bellerose is the Crimson Steam Titan".

"So what do we do?" Quinn asked.

"We confront her, she tried to kill Eren Jaeger but we blew her up with cannons before she did, she's heading to Shiganshina because of something that's hidden there and it's connected to Jaeger in some way" Morgan explained "To think, she attacked the estate back when Wall Maria fell".

"Can we beat her?" Wilhelm asked "We can't get close enough and there's only ten of us".

"Well, only my explosives will work but they won't be enough, so we work with what we've got and what we can find" Morgan said.

[#]

 **Midnight, ruined village south of Wall Rose.**

Wilhelm stood atop a house in the ruined village that they had passed through years before on the 21st Survey Corps Expedition. He was on the night watch and Quinn slept in the house beneath his feet.

 _"Hello Quinn"._

"Huh? Who said that?"Quinn asked.

 _"I hear you're not feeling well, your father says you have a nasty cough"._

"Doctor Jaeger, you're Eren's dad, I remember you" Quinn said "Oh, am I dreaming?"

 _"I want you to hold your arm out and try not to flinch, this will sting a bit but it will help you get better"._

"Oh, this was when dad said I had a cough but I didn't, I always wondered what that was about. Doctor Jaeger's going already? Was that it?"

 _"Just remember Miss Mason, your strength comes from within, only your will to fight the infection and the pain you suffer will ignite it so use it to get better, ok?_

"What did Doctor Jaeger mean? It doesn't take that much to get better from a cough" Quinn sat upright suddenly and looked around "Oh, it was a dream".

"Yes, you were mumbling about Doctor Jaeger as well" Morgan said as he sat at a desk while reading a book despite being past midnight.

"Oh, was I?" Quinn asked with a yawn "I recalled a time when I met Doctor Jaeger, but in a dream".

"I know, like I said; you were mumbling" Morgan said "Go back to sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow".

[#]

 **7AM, Titan held territory.**

The team was once again on the trail of Florence Bellerose, the believed-to-be Crimson Steam Titan.

"Don't you think that we should have run this through Commander Pixis first?" Quinn asked.

"No, I can act on my own authority" Morgan replied.

"I hope the Survey Corps won't mind us taking a few gas canisters from their stash back in the village" Wilhelm said.

"It's 1% ours since we helped put it there I guess" Morgan said "Nah they won't mind, I hope".

"So, Morgan..." Quinn began.

"Yes? Morgan replied and turned his helmeted head back to her as they raced along the grassy planes.

"Will you be telling my parents?"

"Yes, but don't worry, I'll explain everything to them, I'll say how Quinn grew up to be a righteous soldier of humanity, they'll like that" Morgan said "I'm sure of it".

"Won't they be worried though?"

"They've lived through five years of you being a slave, I think they can handle anything about now" Morgan explained "Do you miss them?"

Quinn thought for a moment "Kind of".

"Woah hold up, red smoke signal!" Wilhelm shouted and the team slowed to a trot "That girl's run out of tricks, we know this one already".

The team trotted closer, past a grove of trees the Crimson Steam Titan was dismantling titans one by one as they swarmed her "Well, now we know why we haven't encountered a single titan yet, she's killed them all" Wilhelm said "And it looks like she was waiting for us here, hence the signal".

"Plan of action?" Quinn asked.

"I have an idea, take all the spare gas canisters we took from the stockpile and leave the wagon in the open then leave the rest to me" Morgan said.

"You'll need to give us more to work with, Morgan" Wilhelm said and scratched his head, the Crimson Steam Titan was still butchering titans and was oblivious to the team that had pursued her, she had not anticipated them arriving so early in the day but she knew that they were going to follow after her when she left Trost.

"I want her to chase me, she won't want us to keep pursuing her so she's guaranteed to come after me especially since my explosives can hurt her" Morgan explained "As for the rest of you, I need you to keep other titans away if they turn up, alright team enact the plan!"

The team of soldiers placed the wagon in position then hid in and around the grove of trees as per Morgan's orders, only Morgan would reveal himself.

The Crimson Steam Titan slew the last titan assailant then turned to see a figure racing towards her on horseback _"St Clare"_ Florence said in her titan's guttural voice. She spun her bloody cloud of steam around her and began to generate electricity just as Morgan galloped around her in a wide arc to get her attention, he was just far enough away to be able to cope with the intense heat given off.

Morgan fired his grappling cable into the side of Florence as he rode around back the way he came, a bolt of lightning whipped off and struck Morgan, Quinn gasped as she watched but it was all part of the plan. The electricity conducted through his armor, up the metal cable and back into Florence with a mighty _CRACK_. Sparks flew off and Florence staggered from the powerful blast, the Lieutenant had redirected her own electrical attack after predicting her next move. Morgan retracted his gauntlet mounted grappling cable and rode towards the wagon that was full of spare 3DMG gas canisters. He charged at full speed to get away from Florence but she pursued him as per the plan, she was seriously pissed off and Morgan grinned under his helmet "Too simple".

Morgan rode past, no titans had wondered into the area so the rest of the team stood on standby. The Crimson Steam Titan got closer and Morgan reached the wagon, Florence was just 20m behind him. Morgan passed the wagon then turned back on his horse then drew his crossbow, the red button of a blasting cap that he had placed behind the wagon was all that was in his sights.

Florence flew around it while hovering above the ground on a jet of super pressured steam. Morgan pulled the trigger and the bolt whistled through the air, it struck the detonator as Florence was close and it detonated then took all the gas canisters with it in a massive explosion, the shockwave raced over the soldiers in the trees and shook them with hurricane force winds.

Once again the Crimson Steam Titan was engulfed in flame, it lost its flight power and was flung forward at the sudden loss of propulsion, it struck the ground hard and carved a path through the soil as it ripped up the earth. It's huge body came to a standstill then the crimson cloud dissipated to reveal its real body, not unlike Florence Bellerose.

The team rode in on horseback to the monstrous, seemingly bisected humanoid.

"You're right, it doesn't have legs" Wilhelm remarked.

"You mean she, she doesn't have legs" Quinn said "So it's true, you are the Crimson Steam Titan, Florence".

Morgan trotted up to them "Well, that was pretty straight forward".

The rest of the soldiers clapped and cheered but suddenly, the seemingly defeated titan lifted itself off the ground and braced itself on one hand then swung down with the other to crush three unfortunate recruits.

"Damnit, we didn't strike the nape in time!" Wilhelm cursed as the team scattered. Florence swiped a female soldier and consumed her in one bite then crushed another into the ground, he too was eaten but fortunately he was dead before he met his friends.

Five soldiers were killed in seconds, Wilhelm fired his cables into the titan's temple and swung around to strike the nape but Florence put her hand in the way, she lost her fingers but saved her life. Wilhelm landed again then remounted his horse in a flash after his failed attempt.

Morgan rode up and blew the arm that supported Florence to bits at the elbow and she collapsed into the earth with a thunderous boom. She could not generate her cloud whilst grounded. One armed and fingerless on the other she desperately tried to swipe him but she missed her clumsy swing. Florence breathed in then spewed a great gout of boiling steam and it blasted Morgan off his horse and he landed in a crash on the ground before her.

"Lieutenant!" Wilhelm shouted as Quinn swooped in and slashed one of Florence's eyes to shreds. Florence screamed and fell back but hastily propped herself back up, she was beginning to regain her ability to levitate. A soldier flew at her but she bit his cable in two the smashed him out of the air with her steaming hand.

Morgan staggered up, he was scolded but alive and his armor was hot. He ran towards Florence and she spied him with her other eye but was too slow to react, the armored Lieutenant shot her in the other eye with a crossbow bolt and Florence screeched in fury but he didn't stop there, Morgan got closer then jumped up to the legless torso on a blast of gas from his jump assist system and gripped his hammer in two hands then smashed down into the bridge of her nose, Florence's head blew open from the front in a glorious shower of gore, blood and bone fragments. Morgan landed again after taking the brunt of the point blank blow back via his armor, he staggered backwards and tripped over himself as the close blast had stunned him.

The Crimson Steam Titan sat upright on the ground, it's arm stopped moving and the inside of its head could be seen quite easily from where its face had been imploded. The neck went limp and the rest of the head sagged forwards and hung there eerily. Steam billowed off at every wound but the body remained dormant. Wilhelm swung by and landed on its left shoulder, he took his sword and sliced into the neck, the other soldier jumped up and helped him cut Florence Bellerose out of the titan's body, just like what had been done for Eren Jaeger.

The Titan's body died then and there and the Captain took Florence in his arms then leaped off to the ground. Morgan staggered up and removed his helmet "Things look a bit fuzzy".

"Well you did just take the blow back of an explosion you know" Quinn said as she ran up.

"Y-yeah I did" Morgan said then tripped over and fell face first into the ground "I'll be alright, just give me a moment" He mumbled.

"We got her" Wilhelm said gladly "We need rope to stop her from biting her hand and transforming again, she'll wake up before we get back".

A soldier rummaged around in the saddle pouch of her horse and produced some rope then handed it to Wilhelm "Thanks".

"Uh, Morgan?" Quinn asked "You're not going to like this".

Morgan got up from the ground slowly and picked up his helmet then turned to what Quinn was looking at "Oh no".

Bellerophon, Morgan's noble and much loved horse lay on the ground beside the steaming body of the titan, he was dead, scolded to death after he had been hit by the worst of Florence's boiling breath.

"I'm so sorry, you've had him for years now" Quinn said and began to tear up.

Morgan walked towards his fallen friend and knelt down then let out a sad sigh "Good bye, Bellerophon".

Wilhelm approached them after laying Florence down "That's a damn shame, Beller was a good horse".

"It's ok, he served me well" Morgan said and stood up "Let's head back".

"But you need a horse, can our horses even carry you? We have six left now that... we... lost six soldiers" Quinn said but realized that six of the seven soldiers that had been with them had been killed.

"I hope their deaths were worth it" Morgan said "We'll have to take it slow, Survey Horses aren't bred to carry men in armor".

"Well at least we can get back, even if it may take days" Quinn said "I hope the information we can get from Florence will be enough to justify coming out here".

"Quinn?" Wilhelm asked.

"Yeah?"

"This is the first time you've been outside the walls, isn't it?"

Quinn thought for a moment "Wow, I never thought about that, yeah it is".

"Well done, normally only the Survey Corps go beyond the walls, occasionally the Wall Garrison though never the MPs".

"It's still early in the day, we can make it back to the landmark village by noon I reckon" Morgan said and looked around the giant, unending field of grass. A few mountains could be seen in the distance.

"Alright, let's go".

The remaining horses snorted and whinnied then galloped off for no apparent reason leaving the four soldiers behind beside a giant steaming corpse.

"What the hell?" Wilhelm exclaimed as he tried to run after them but they had gone "What's got into them?"

"Wilhelm, look out!" Quinn shouted as the remains of the Crimson Steam Titan lifted its arm and smashed into the ground, Wilhelm jumped away as the bone splintered and crumbled around him. He landed then looked up to see the corpse fully decay to dust.

"Interesting" Morgan said "It appears that the Crimson Steam Titan just tried one last attempt at killing us before it decayed away, but Florence is here so the corpse must have been acting on its own".

"R-really?" Quinn asked nervously "Is it a zombie?"

"No it's dead now, it must have been a reflex reaction before it fully decayed, like a fail safe that fights to the end" Morgan explained "But now we're really screwed, we have no horses".

"Bloody horses, so much for being bred for bravery" Wilhelm cursed.

"What do we do sir?" The last remaining recruit asked, a girl about 15 years old with brown hair and green eyes.

"Walk" Wilhelm grumbled.

"This is going to be dangerous" Morgan said and shook his head in annoyance.

"I second the thought" Quinn said "We're what? Two days out from Wall Rose?"

"Pretty much, and now we don't have horses, make that a week at most" Wilhelm calculated.

"Typical" Quinn sighed.

* * *

(Hi Hillie, thanks for the endless positive reviews although only a few would be fine, I've made some adjustments to Hange's lines in chapter 10, why don't you make an account so you can follow my story? Also my Deviantart is: Duke-Statian so you can find some drawings there, the other characters are still work in progress)


	12. Attack on Desperation

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 12**

 **Forest of Giant Trees, 6 days from Wall Rose.**

"Are we there yet?" Quinn asked.

"Don't even start" Morgan replied as they trudged through the forest, the colossal trees blotted out the sun. Wilhelm and the other recruit followed suit.

"So if you're a Lieutenant in the Wall Garrison, do you command a section of it?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, the 21st regiment of 1000 soldiers, it's part of the 7th Brigade and the 3rd Division. My regiment specializes in cannon based combat and so rarely leaves the walls" Morgan explained "Although we have 994 soldiers now. Lieutenants lead regiments, Captain's lead Brigades and Major's lead Divisions".

Quinn acknowledged the military structure "So I heard about this _Humanities Strongest Soldiers_ list and you're 21st on it out of 100 of the best".

"Yes, it's hard to get on the top 100 since there's tens of thousands of soldiers" Morgan replied.

"I'm 17th by the way" Wilhelm chimed in.

"Shut up, Wilhelm, don't show off" Morgan grumbled.

"That Captain Levi guy, he's 1st though" Quinn said.

"We know" Wilhelm and Morgan said in unison, everyone knew of Levi and his skill.

"Where am I on the list?" Quinn asked innocently. Wilhelm, Morgan and even the recruit began to laugh.

"Hey, stop laughing!" Quinn shouted and began to sulk.

"Don't shout, we don't want to attract any titans" Morgan said then lowered his visor so he could carry on laughing in secret.

"I can still hear you!" Quinn fumed and lifted the visor of Morgan's sallet helmet again.

"I'm sorry Quinn but the scale doesn't go that high up" Wilhelm sniggered, he almost let the still unconscious Florence go.

"Guys please..." Quinn whined.

Morgan threw up his hand suddenly to stop the squad of four plus one and the others froze instantly. He reached over his shoulder and took his crossbow then crouched, he released the bolt and it disappeared into the bushes. An animal grunted then went silent.

"It's a deer" Morgan said as he dragged it out.

"Aww it's so cute though, why'd you do that?" Quinn complained.

Wilhelm spoke up "Because we have a six day walk and it's best to save the imperishable rations till last" Morgan and Wilhelm didn't even need to speak to communicate their thoughts, they pretty much knew what the other was going to do or what they meant by their actions.

"Oh don't tell me we're gonna..." Quinn winced.

"Eat it" Wilhelm finished then took out a knife "Go get some sticks but don't go far" He said to Quinn and the recruit.

[#]

Quinn and the recruit returned with a bundle of sticks and branches as Wilhelm had finished carving up the deer, Morgan was fiddling with a blasting cap then removed the detonator with a knife "Gun powder will speed up the ignition of the wood".

They assembled a fire off from the road in case any titans followed the path through the forest. A spit was carved from a fallen branch and Morgan and Wilhelm cooked the deer.

"You make it look easy" Quinn said as she observed Wilhelm.

"My father was a butcher" Wilhelm replied "And I've been in the military for thirteen years now".

"Just how old are you?" Quinn asked.

"30" Wilhelm replied.

"I didn't expect you to be that old" Quinn remarked.

"Well I'm blessed with ageless looks" Wilhelm smirked then returned to what he was doing.

"Is it done yet?" Quinn asked.

"Have you ever cooked anything before?" Wilhelm asked.

"Once or twice, in cadet training" Quinn replied. Wilhelm shook his head then sighed.

[#]

Two hours later, the team had moved on from their resting spot after eating the deer.

"It was still cute though" Quinn sighed.

"How the hell did you make it through training?" Wilhelm remarked.

"I helped her" Florence said and startled the group, Morgan turned around and Wilhelm put her down.

"So you're awake" Wilhelm said and propped her up against a tree since she was bound by rope.

"Is this really necessary?" Florence asked with a grin.

"You're a titan shifter, and you've killed many people so I deem it fitting" Morgan replied.

"Fair enough" Florence said and tested her bindings.

"Well now that you're awake, we might as well question you" Morgan suggested "What are you?"

"I'm a titan shifter, like you said".

"Why are you attacking humanity?" Wilhelm asked, he turned his head slightly to Morgan and Morgan nodded. He took a red handkerchief from his pocket but kept it out of view.

"I can't answer that" Florence replied honestly.

"Why not?" Wilhelm asked.

"Because I don't know".

"You don't know? So you suffered from amnesia then or something?" Quinn asked "I thought we were friends".

"Something like that" Florence said then looked around "This rope isn't going to stop me, you know that right? I'll admit, you were clever to get me this time".

"We've dealt with you every time we've met except for when you attacked the estate five years ago" Morgan countered.

"But with four soldiers, no horses and no traps do you really think you can beat me?" Florence asked.

"Easily" Morgan replied.

"Oh yeah? Wanna find out?" Florence asked then grinned menacingly.

"Go ahead" Morgan replied casually.

Florence opened her mouth and prepared to bite her tongue but Wilhelm jammed his handkerchief in her mouth before she could draw blood. Florence looked up with a dumbstruck expression.

"Fuff You" Florence mumbled "You wonf beeth me wiff a wag!"

Quinn turned to Wilhelm with a puzzled expression "You won't beat me with a rag?"

"Correct" Wilhelm replied "And it's not a rag it's my silk handkerchief, which I just ruined, bitch" He scorned Florence.

Florence glared at them with fury in her eyes.

"Well it looks like this was our easiest victory yet, if it hasn't occurred to you; we're smarter than we look, we've predicted two of your moves and countered them both now" Morgan explained "Though if Hange was here she would be ten steps ahead of you".

Florence didn't reply for obvious reasons and the cadet giggled to herself. Wilhelm picked Florence back up and carried on his way then Morgan and Quinn followed.

"No need to be so modest" Quinn joked.

"I suppose but Florence needs to learn that we'll trump her every time she pulls something from now on, every time we've encountered her, I've studied her first and she's out of tricks" Morgan said.

"How do you know?" Quinn asked.

"Because she pretty much has a trick for everything and she's used them all" Morgan explained "I'm fairly certain".

Wilhelm looked at Florence in the eyes "Yeah you're right, she's out of tricks".

"Wait, how do you know that?" Quinn asked.

"Captain Wilhelm Adler is famous for simply knowing things by looking people in the eye" Morgan said.

"Correct, I can detect tiny changes in emotion and I haven't been wrong yet" Wilhelm said.

"Fuff you!" Florence mumbled again.

"See, she agrees" Wilhelm joked.

Morgan turned around and looked at Florence "Just for future reference; if you do try something again, I'll replace that handkerchief with a blasting cap and drag you back to the walls on rope, understand?"

"Burn" Wilhelm quietly said from the corner of his mouth.

"What if she bumps her chin on a rock and detonates it or something?" Quinn asked.

"Then she's fucked" The recruit trilled and carried on walking.

Wilhelm chuckled to himself "I always thought she was a shy one".

[#]

"What's your name, recruit?" Wilhelm asked the soldier as they left the forest of giant trees behind them.

"Cecilia Mathias" She replied, she was 15 years old with short brown hair and green eyes.

"Nice to meet you, I ought to have learned my squad's name's before we left" Wilhelm said.

"This is my squad remember, you're a squad captain in the Survey Corps but a Warrant Officer elsewhere, squad captain in not a rank" Morgan said.

"This isn't much of a squad" Wilhelm scoffed.

"Blame Florence" Morgan replied.

"Oh so you're Wilhelm's senior?" Quinn asked.

"We're kind of similar ranks but I'm a commissioned officer, so I went through officer school instead of joining the main branch of the military, Wilhelm is non-commissioned but we're kind of equals. Back in the Survey Corps, Wilhelm was a squad leader and so was my senior officer but elsewhere it's not the case" Morgan explained.

"I see" Quinn said.

"But I'm far more experienced, that's why I'm ranked 17th on the strongest soldier charts" Wilhelm said proudly.

"I won't argue with that" Morgan replied.

The squad carried on walking towards the walls, the village was perhaps half a day's walk away now. Wilhelm and Cecilia along with the tied up Florence trailed behind as Quinn and Morgan walked ahead, they were back on the unending grassy planes now.

"Quinn, I've been thinking" Morgan began then closed his visor, it was becoming a habit of his to hide his emotion even though he was mostly a level headed kind of guy.

Quinn turned to him "Yes?"

"We can't be together" Morgan said bluntly and Quinn's heart jumped suddenly as a pang of pain struck it.

"W-what do you mean?" Quinn asked desperately.

"We're in the military, and that leaves very little room for love. What's worse is that these days, life is far more dangerous than it's ever been, especially since we're stationed at Trost. Neither I nor Wilhelm will always be with you when you're on duty, the Wall Garrison only has 11 of the top 100 strongest soldiers, most are in the Survey Corps or the Military Police which means that there won't always be someone who you can trust with your life" Morgan explained.

"W-what are you getting at?" Quinn asked, uncertain of the outcome.

"You can die so easily, it's horrible to think about but it's true. You're weak, Quinn, very weak and I don't mean to degrade you but it's a reality you can't ignore. Without a squad of strong soldiers, you will most likely die. We can lose squads of seven men in seconds, ten squads an hour, during every battle, it's _that_ bad and they are competent soldiers as well, they're not weak. If you continue, you will end up dead and I won't be there to protect you, nor shall I bare the pain of digging your grave".

Quinn fell silent and looked down at her feet "What about you? Surely I might feel the same about you".

"I live by the facts, Quinn. I am humanities 21st strongest soldier, I know it and I live up to my title plus I'm the only one that wears armor, but it's true, a lucky swipe from a titan and I can die, same as you. But that's also the same for Captain Levi, humanities strongest. Levi once told me that he can believe in his skills and the choices of the companions that he trusts, but he never knows what the outcome will be, no one does".

"Levi told you that?" Quinn asked.

"A few years ago, I served with the Survey Corps up until last week. But that's irrelevant, I want you to go home when we reach Wall Rose and never return to the military, if you refuse then I will force your resignation as a Lieutenant, this is for your own good".

Quinn felt cold inside and upset but she knew it to be true, she'd lost Florence as a friend who she could rely on and now Morgan wanted her gone, no doubt Wilhelm would side with him as well.

"I refuse" Quinn said simply "I'll prove to you that I can handle myself, I'll surpass you, Wilhelm and everyone else; I'll become humanities strongest soldier".

Morgan stopped walking then lifted his helmet's visor and turned to Quinn "Then prove it, prove me wrong and become my equal, then surpass that and take Levi's place as the greatest warrior in existence".

Quinn's heart raced and she was overjoyed by Morgan's sudden change in decision "I will, I'll become the greatest!"

"Good, here's your first challenge" Morgan said then pointed into the distance.

"What?" Quinn asked as Wilhelm and Cecilia walked up.

"Titan, 15m class, kill it" Morgan said as a dull titan pondered around, it had not yet noticed the humans "We will sit here and watch, if you can kill it by yourself then you will begin your journey to becoming the strongest, if not then we'll have to save you".

Quinn stared intently at the titan "No, if I die then I die, do not help me".

"That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" Morgan asked, partially regretting what he had said.

"No, I'll prove to you my strength. No one interfere even if I'm going to die" Quinn said and started walking towards the titan.

Morgan sat down on the gentle grassy hill "Take a seat, I have faith". Wilhelm thought to protest but then set Florence down and sat down himself, Florence rolled her eyes.

"Stuffith girl" Florence mumbled.

"She's not stupid, she's determined" Morgan said and placed his hands on his knees. Cecilia sat down to watch as well.

"You're really gonna let her do that?" Wilhelm asked.

"I couldn't stop her even if I wanted to" Morgan replied.

"We're on flat ground, 3DMG is nearly useless here and that's not even taking in her low skill" Wilhelm said "It would take all four of us to deal with a 15m class out in the open like that".

Morgan didn't reply yet he acknowledged it with a nod, he watched Quinn intently.

Quinn leaped towards the titan on a burst of gas, the sound of the 3DMG caught it's attention and it plodded towards her, she only had a lone tree to work with in terms of terrain.

"There's more than one way to slay a titan" Quinn said to herself under her breath, she was a nervous wreck but tried not to feel it.

The titan was close enough now and so reached out to grab Quinn who was still walking towards it, she leaped out of the way to avoid its fist impacting the earth and she landed seven meters to the right. She fired her cable at its neck and reeled herself in, she got close and fired her other cable into the nape as she swung around. Before she could strike, the titan turned around and threw the cables off which sent Quinn spinning back down, she righted herself on a burst of gas and broke her fall then she clattered to the ground.

Wilhelm shuffled uncomfortably and Morgan placed a hand on his hammer at his belt.

Quinn stood up just as the titan reached for her but she swiped at its fingers with her sword and sliced some off. The titan grunted then lifted its other hand instead, Quinn dived to the side just as the second fist left a crater in the earth.

"She's too slow, she's gonna get herself killed" Wilhelm said hesitantly then stood up.

"Leave her" Morgan said and gestured back to the ground.

"Iff you lef me go, I can kirr irt" Florence mumbled.

"We know you can kill it" Wilhelm said "But we're not letting you go".

The titan swiped at Quinn but she was too slow, it grabbed her in its giant hand and she let out a scream. Morgan stood up and drew his hammer, Wilhelm followed suit and drew his swords.

Quinn was panicking now, her foolhardiness had gotten the better of her for the second time and it would get her killed for sure.

 _Your strength comes from within, only your will to fight the infection and the pain you suffer will ignite it._

The voice of Doctor Jaeger flashed into her mind and something like instinct kicked in, Quinn was no longer controlling her actions. She bit her free hand, and the world turned white.

[#]

"What"

"The"

"Hell?"

Wilhelm, Morgan and Cecilia said one after another, even Florence looked shocked.

A 13m class titan had burst from the thick hands of the 15m class titan that had grabbed Quinn. Its lean and feminine frame was skinless like the Colossal Titan and her ribs were reversed and stuck out like spines along her back, her fingers were long, delicate but lethally sharp and pointed while her head had wild hair, like Quinn's but more sinister. Her mouth was missing entirely and instead two maws opened up in the palms of her hands.

"Impossible, I've known her for years, there's no way..." Morgan said in disbelief, he raised his visor to get a better view.

"What..." Wilhelm whispered.

Cecilia remained quiet and watched in silence, Florence did as well.

The new titan stood before her assailant. The dull and ugly 15m class titan reached out to swipe her but the new titan grabbed its wrist before the strike connected, the titan tried again with its other arm but it too was caught. At once the arms began to smoke with acrid vapor as a purple/pink liquid secreted from the hands of the newcomer.

The wrists of the titan melted off and the newcomer cast them aside, the disembodied hands then decayed in seconds as the virulent liquid turned them into a goopy consistency.

"The Caustic Titan" Morgan said and took out his notebook without taking his eyes off the spectacle before him.

The Caustic Titan then took a lean and slender hand then flattened the fingers into a spear shape and rammed it straight into the breastbone of the titan and it fell back with a crash then the bloody hole opened up and began to grow bigger until it started to consume its chest, she then turned to the four humans and observed them.

"She didn't finish it off?" Wilhelm exclaimed.

"No, look, she pumped it full of that liquid" Morgan said and pointed to the rapidly melting titan behind her "She melts things with that virulent substance that comes from her hands" He said then noted it down in his book.

Quinn had become a titan, there was no escaping that fact. She stared at them with her feminine eyes and mouthless head then walked towards them. Cecilia backed away and ran "Stop, stay here" Wilhelm ordered.

The Caustic Titan knelt down to them.

"Quinn? Quinn, come out, you've won" Morgan said and approached her then placed his gauntlet clad hand on her face. She closed her eyes and steam began to seep from gaps in her muscles.

"Wait till Hange hears about this" Morgan said to himself as the titan's body began to decay "Wilhelm, retrieve her from the nape".

"Got it" Wilhelm nodded then jumped up onto the shoulders via 3DMG and helped Quinn out of her new form. Quinn swayed a little and was sweating from the heat it gave off but overall she was fine, Wilhelm helped her to the ground as her 3DMG was missing.

"D-did I do good?" Quinn asked and leaned on Morgan for support.

"That's a bit of an understatement" Morgan said and held her up.

"I didn't know I could do that" Quinn gasped.

"I don't think anyone knew you could do that" Wilhelm said and scratched his head.

"I'm just like Jaeger and Florence then, I-I'm a titan shifter, right?" Quinn asked.

"It would appear so" Wilhelm replied "Who else is a titan here? Raise your hand".

Florence wriggled in her bindings and mumbled something "Yes, we know" Cecilia said to Florence.

"When we get back, I'm taking you to Hange Zoe, she'll know what to do" Morgan said.

"I wonder how many titan shifters there are? And how the hell do they do it?" Wilhelm asked.

"Don' aft me" Florence mumbled.

(Chapters are beginning to get longer and more in-depth from this moment on)

 **Character Profile:** The Caustic Titan

Height: 13 meters

 **Stats:**

Power: 7/10

Speed: 10/10

Threat: ?/10

Toughness: 6/10

Acidity: 11/10

Loudness: 0/10


	13. Attack on Relief

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 13**

"So what do we do when we get back?" Wilhelm asked.

"We keep Quinn's titan shifting ability a secret from all but the Survey Corps, I don't even trust my own regiment given what could have happened to Jaeger" Morgan explained.

"You're awfully calm about this, Quinn" Wilhelm said and turned to her as they approached the village that they had passed through a few days before.

"Am I? I'm freaking out" Quinn exclaimed as she wracked her brains to figure out what had happened "Was I awesome though? As a titan?"

"Exceptionally" Cecilia said.

"Ok, stock up on gas canisters and sword blades from the stockpile" Morgan said and gestured to the cottage where they were stored for future use. Wilhelm set Florence down and she mumbled something.

Quinn and Wilhelm walked inside then went to the basement "Do you think I have a shot at becoming humanities strongest soldier now?" Quinn asked.

"Well, since you can turn into a titan, yes, yes you do" Wilhelm replied "But as we saw with Jaeger, you still need to apply tactics and skill when you fight as a titan, otherwise you're no different to the average ones we fight".

Wilhelm picked up four canisters and Quinn took two "What did I actually do as a titan though? I wasn't completely aware".

"You can secrete a substance that rapidly decays a target, your fingers are incredibly sharp but your body looks very fragile, like a glass hammer you can hit hard but I can't imagine that even as a titan, you can take much punishment".

"Oh, well it's better than I can do as a human, I guess" Quinn said and picked up some sword blades "It's a shame I lost my 3DMG though".

Wilhelm walked back up the steps and into the light "Do you trust me?" Quinn asked as she followed.

"What do you mean?" Wilhelm asked and turned back.

"As a titan, do you trust me? Others thought that Eren Jaeger was the enemy just because he was a titan but he saved Trost".

"In time I will, but for now lets focus on getting home alive, alright?" Wilhelm said in a friendly tone, he didn't trust Quinn completely as they were unaware of her capabilities as a titan, even Morgan had his doubts but kept quiet about it, but then he never talked unless he had to or was with friends.

"What does Morgan think?" Quinn asked.

"Impossible to tell, Morgan lives in the past and the future but never the present, he's always thinking and so appears unapproachable at times because of it but no doubt he's thinking about what to do. Unfortunately for him, his habit leaves him oblivious at times but don't worry, everyone here is on your side" Wilhelm assured her "Except Florence".

"Thanks, I never thought about it like that" Quinn smiled warmly then they walked back to Morgan, Cecilia and Florence. Quinn took the gas canisters and helped Morgan replace the two that were integrated into the back plate of his armor even though they were still half full. Wilhelm and Cecilia both replaced their canisters as well as a precaution and they set off again, still four or five days from Wall Rose.

"Quinn, I want you to turn into a titan again" Morgan asked.

"What? Why?" Quinn replied.

"Because we're in a remote area outside the walls where others can't see, I want to see how it works" Morgan explained "Bite your hand again".

Quinn hesitated then reluctantly lifted her hand to her mouth "Stand back" She bit down and yelped as she drew blood but nothing happened.

"Well, that was a surprise" Wilhelm remarked "I thought that's how it worked".

"I did as well, Quinn, what was it that ignited your power?" Morgan asked as Quinn held her bleeding hand and winced.

"U-um I'm not sure" Quinn said and wiped her mouth.

"Work backwards, what events took place and what were you thinking when fighting the titan?" Morgan asked.

"I-um, well I wanted to prove to you that I could become humanities strongest soldier but when I failed and was about to be eaten, I lost control and bit my hand then I became a titan" Quinn explained.

"I see, you had something to prove and therefore you became a titan, I'll have to discuss this with Hange but your power to become a titan may rely on you wanting to prove something first that you can not accomplish as a human" Morgan said and weighed up the possibilities.

"That was rather astute" Cecilia remarked.

"It's only a theory, we need to prove it first" Morgan replied "There's plenty of other possibilities".

"Guys, I'm bleeding here" Quinn whined. Wilhelm took out his first aid kit and began wrapping her hand in field dressing.

[#]

 **Two days later.**

"It's beginning to rain" Cecilia said and pointed up.

"Typical" Morgan said and took his cape off and draped it over his body "Wet clothes and armor is horrible".

"I thought you were supposed to be a soldier?" Quinn jibed.

"I've been walking in fifty kilograms of armor for the past four days now, I don't want to add wet clothes to the list as well" Morgan said irritably.

"Won't your armor rust though?" Quinn asked.

"Not this armor, it's coated in nickel" Morgan explained.

"Oh" Quinn said "What's that?"

"You know nothing about metal works, do you?" Wilhelm asked.

"Nope".

"We'll leave it at that then" Morgan said as the rain began to fall.

Quinn, Wilhelm and Cecilia put up their hoods, Florence was not so lucky and mumbled in annoyance.

"So what will we do with Florence then?" Wilhelm asked.

"Give her to Hange Zoe, she'll probably dissect her or something" Morgan replied. Florence's eyes widened at the thought and she grumbled in disgust.

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Quinn asked.

"Considering she has killed a lot of people, it's that or execution. I'm not trusting her to assist humanity at all given that fact, besides we already have a titan that we can rely on" Morgan said.

"Me!" Quinn beamed.

"I was referring to Eren Jaeger actually" Morgan replied and Quinn's smile faded "No, I meant you as well, I'm only teasing, but we need to learn more about your abilities first before you can fight the titans on their own terms".

[#]

 **Three days of painful walking later.**

"I-I see the walls!" Quinn announced excitedly.

"Thank god" Wilhelm gasped and almost dropped Florence.

Morgan had his head down and trudged along, a clunk followed every footstep "Huh? What?"

"Don't tell me you were asleep?" Quinn asked.

"Half asleep, I'm running on automatic at the moment" Morgan joked with a yawn and took out his hammer.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked as Morgan held a blasting cap.

"Letting the Wall Garrison know we're here" Morgan said and attached the explosive to his hammer. He walked up to a nearby tree and swung it, the tree splintered near the base as the small blast rung out across the plain of grass, it promptly collapsed away from him.

"Do you think they heard that?" Wilhelm asked.

Morgan looked up at the walls, they were perhaps 300m away from it and saw the tiny dots of the garrisoned soldiers walking atop it, a green smoke signal went up "Yes, they saw us".

Half an hour later, the soldiers lowered a winch elevator to the outside of the walls and the four soldiers climbed on with Florence still in Wilhelm's arms. A few minutes after that, the elevator reached the top with a creak and they stepped off onto the walls.

"I haven't been so glad to be back on the walls in my life" Cecilia gasped and fell to the floor.

"What the hell happened?" A Corporal exclaimed as he ran up to greet them.

"A rogue soldier" Wilhelm replied and placed Florence on the floor "We'll deal with her though, don't worry".

"What of the others?" The Corporal asked.

"They were slain in action, we have brought back their badges but we were unable to take their bodies with us, our horses either got killed or spooked so we've been walking for the best part of six days" Wilhelm explained.

"And no titans attacked you?"

"Surprisingly very few" Wilhelm replied and the team boarded the elevator on the other side of the wall to get down to the city of Trost.

Morgan removed his helmet as they walked through the streets towards the barracks "Alright, we'll spend a day here then we travel to the Survey Corps HQ, we'll keep Florence in the dungeons in the meantime".

Quinn lay on her bed within the barracks and stared continuously up at the ceiling and did not blink. She was exhausted physically and mentally and both scared and intrigued by her titan shifting power. In the room beside hers, Morgan lay fast asleep on his bed, he hadn't even taken his armor off because he was so tired. Wilhelm was interrogating Florence and Cecilia the recruit had gone to get lunch. She knew that if her titan power was public knowledge, she would be sleeping in the dungeons with Florence.

She removed the bandage on her hand to inspect the wound from where she had bitten herself, but discovered that no mark remained. Quinn tilted her hand towards the light of a window to see if she had missed anything but she hadn't; there was no longer a bite mark nor any remnant of it.

 **Survey Corps HQ, two days later.**

Wilhelm, Quinn and Morgan trotted into the courtyard of the Survey Corps HQ and were greeted by Petra Ral who was doing some sweeping. Florence Bellerose was still tied up and shared a horse with Wilhelm. Morgan had bought a new horse that was capable of carrying a man in armor though it was still accepting him as his master, although Morgan was not wearing his armor and had packaged it up and strapped it to the saddle.

"Oh, hi Wilhelm" Petra smiled and waved then walked up to greet them.

"Hey Petra, where's Hange and Levi?" Wilhelm asked.

"They just finished their experiments on Jaeger, Hange's probably in her study, what brings you here?" Petra said and leaned on the broom.

"We've captured the Crimson Steam Titan" Morgan spoke up and gestured to Florence who frowned at the ginger girl.

Petra blinked twice with wide eyes "You did?"

"Yep, beat her with a rag" Morgan joked.

"Handkerchief" Wilhelm corrected him.

"Fuff You!" Florence mumbled.

Petra looked Florence up and down "Wait, we've met before, you're that red head from the 21st expedition, aren't you?"

"Yes, and she's also the titan we encountered at that time" Wilhelm said.

"Wait, just how many times have you fought her?" Quinn asked as she got off her horse.

Wilhelm and Morgan both looked at each other "Three times now I guess, once during the 21st expedition, Levi blew her face up" Wilhelm said.

"Oh, I see" Quinn said.

"Petra, can you do us a favor and ask Erwin, Hange and Levi to meet us in the dungeons please? We want to show them something" Morgan asked.

"Sure" Petra replied and skipped away towards the castle.

[#]

Erwin, Hange and Levi walked into the dungeons of the castle to find Florence chained up to the wall. Quinn, Wilhelm and Morgan stood by.

"Morgan!" Hange beamed and ran towards him but stopped when she saw Quinn and her complexion changed dramatically "Hi".

"Hey Hange" Morgan smiled back "We have someone for you to meet".

Levi walked up and Erwin leaned against the back wall "Who's this?" Levi asked.

"Florence Bellerose, also known as the Crimson Steam Titan" Wilhelm introduced them, Hange dropped her glasses and juggled them before regaining her composure and putting them back on "Huh?"

Morgan nodded "We saw her leaving the walls, she survived Trost and attempted to flee to Shiganshina but we caught her".

Levi walked up and inspected the red head "You're that girl we saved?" He then promptly punched her in the face and shattered her nose. Florence gasped and blood ran from her nose and mouth.

"Oh yeah, Levi and Hange occasionally torture their subjects by the way" Wilhelm told Florence, she glared back in disgust.

"That wasn't torture, that was revenge for killing my men" Levi spat "Bitch".

"So that's two titan shifters then?" Erwin spoke up from the back of the room.

Quinn raised her hand "U-um actually, I can too" She said nervously, she had only met Hange and not the commander or the famous Captain Levi, the one that she had to become greater than and surpass.

Hange clasped her hands together and spun around "Yahoooo!" She exclaimed "More subjects!"

"Actually Hange, we'll be training Quinn and using her titan powers to fight other titans, just like Jaeger, Florence on the other hand is all yours" Morgan said.

"How the hell did this happen?" Levi asked with furrowed eyebrows as he observed Quinn then turned back to Florence, Quinn froze in terror at the captain's piercing gaze.

"The only connection between Quinn and Eren's ability is Doctor Jaeger, that's literally the only link there is" Morgan said "But that doesn't answer anything".

"How did your experiments go with Jaeger by the way?" Wilhelm asked.

Hange turned around to face him "Well, we know how he activates his power but that's mostly it, he requires a clear goal first".

"Hey, that's just like what Morgan said about me but rather I need something to prove first before I can activate it".

Hange frowned at Quinn but acknowledged the statement then turned to Morgan "Are you sure I can't dissect her?"

"No, you have Florence for that" Morgan said. Florence was fuming furiously and rattled her chains, Levi promptly kicked her in the gut then ripped the handkerchief out of her mouth and she spat blood onto the grim stone floor. He handed the bloodied handkerchief back to Wilhelm and took out his own to wipe his hands down from blood and spittle.

"She can't transform in here, right?" Wilhelm asked cautiously and accepted his handkerchief back, he would have to thoroughly wash it.

"No, it's too small a space" Hange assured him then turned back to Morgan "Why don't we let Eren and Quinn talk about it, maybe they can come up with an answer?"

"That sounds like a good idea" Erwin spoke up "But just like Jaeger, we'll need Levi to watch her".

"That won't be necessary" Morgan said "We've witnessed her titan form and she has full control, she doesn't go berserk like Eren does, if not I can handle her".

"Oh?" Levi exclaimed and looked his way.

"Yes, I've recorded her abilities so far and she produces a highly acidic substance which melts flesh but nothing else, I'm safe in my armor" Morgan replied "She's also very fast and agile".

"Let me have a look" Hange asked and gestured to Morgan, Morgan took out his notebook and handed it over to Hange who pocketed it for later.

"We have an expedition coming up within the next two weeks by the way" Erwin said "Would you care to join us? Two titans may be extremely beneficial".

"I don't see why not, Commander Pixis has authorized my absence due to recent circumstances" Morgan said and Wilhelm and Quinn nodded.

"Does Pixis know about..." Quinn started.

"Yes, but he's the only one I told so don't worry" Morgan cut her off.

Erwin walked up to Florence "You remind me of someone, it's the hair I think".

Levi rolled his eyes "Don't you dare say it, I already know who". *

[#]

Quinn awoke to the sound of a harsh voice at the door, she was sharing a room with Petra and a few other Survey Corps soldiers during her stay, fortunately as a Garrison member, she did not conflict with the Survey Corps soldiers unlike a Military Police officer would and as a titan, well, they hadn't told the rest of the soldiers yet about that little detail.

"I said get up, runt!" Levi barked and tapped his boot on the floor.

"W-what? But I'm not on duty here" Quinn yawned and opened her eyes.

"No, but I've been asked to train you, so come on" Levi said impatiently.

"Huh?" Quinn sat upright and narrowly missed her head on the top bunk.

"You heard, Morgan and Wilhelm requested that I train you so that's exactly what I'm gonna do, I've seen your combat scores and it's a waste of the fucking paper that they're printed on" Levi berated her in his usual tone "I've never see such disgraceful marks, how the hell did you join the Wall Garrison?"

"Florence helped me" Quinn said and got out of bed "I guess".

"Fine, meet me in the courtyard at five O'clock" Levi said and turned to leave.

"Five?!" Quinn gasped and turned to see the sun rising outside her window "Oh, it's a bit early isn't it?"

Levi couldn't believe the soldier before him "Are you _even_ a soldier?"

"Um, well most people say I'm not" Quinn scratched the back of her head "But I'm a Lance Corporal so I must be doing something right".

"You're nothing special" Levi spat and left.

[#]

"Do I get breakfast first?" Quinn asked as she stood before Levi within the confines of the courtyard, she was in her Garrison uniform but did not have her 3DMG.

"Oh for the love of god" Levi hissed in irritation "MORGAN!"

Morgan St Clare opened the window of the officer's lounge on the second floor, the favorite place of the higher ranked members of the military who stayed at the castle.

"Morning Levi" Morgan smiled as he sipped his coffee.

"FUCK YOU!" Levi swore loudly at the Lieutenant.

"It was Wilhelm's idea as well!" Morgan called back then shut the window and resumed talking to Hange over their morning coffee within the officer's lounge.

"This is a fucking joke" Levi shook his head "Alright, listen up; your rank is nothing here, I don't take orders from Morgan or Wilhelm so I certainly won't listen to you despite our ranks being equal, got it?"

"Yes sir!" Quinn saluted then fell at ease "Did Morgan tell you that I want to become humanities strongest soldier? I wanna be stronger than you!"

Levi couldn't understand the creature before him, he sat down on the brick tiles and looked directly ahead, nobody could break him but this girl certainly would with her absurd and ridiculous notions.

"Sir? Sir? We've got training to do, no time for naps" Quinn said and crouched down to look him in the eyes.

"I'm gonna kill those two bastards, this is worse than death" Levi said quietly "I've dealt with trouble makers and those who don't take no shit, those who aggravate me and reject my authority but you are something special".

"Huh? I didn't do anything" Quinn said innocently.

"Keep at it Quinn, you've almost beaten humanities strongest soldier!" Wilhelm called from across the courtyard as he walked by with a chuckle "That's one way to surpass him".

"Fucking shoot me" Levi swore then stood up "Alright runt, get ready, as a titan the only skills you will need to beat others will be tactics and hand to hand combat so follow my lead".

[#]

Levi slammed the door to the officers lounge and walked over to the sink and made some tea, Morgan watched from the corner table and raised his open book slowly to cover his face, Hange sniggered and spilt her drink.

"You two have been here talking for what? Three hours now?" Levi scolded them and turned around.

"Four" Morgan replied and raised the book to cover his face even further, Morgan and Hange were like two school children trying not to piss off their teacher while stepping on thin ice. Hange's cheeks were bright red from silent laughter and Morgan grinned from beneath the cover of his book.

Erwin walked in to refill his teacup "How's the girl's training going, Levi?" He asked and broke the tension.

"Tch, she learns fast but how the hell did Keith Shadis not drill military discipline into her thick skull?" Levi spat then looked at Morgan, Morgan shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I only reunited with her two weeks ago" Morgan replied.

"This is the girl you went all out for?" Levi asked irritably and looked out the window as Quinn trained on a dummy.

"Pretty much, I'm still duty bound to Baron Mason as well".

"She's the dumbest fuck I've ever met" Levi swore and sipped his drink then leaned on the counter.

"I'd say more of an innocent airhead, she's actually pretty smart" Morgan replied.

"Well at least she's getting the hang of it, I heard her combat skill was ranked 2/10" Hange said.

Morgan shuffled uncomfortably as the two captains and Erwin looked his way "Don't just associate me with Quinn all the time, she's been gone for five years, it's not my problem".

"I reckon it's 'cause that Florence kid dragged her through training, don't know why she'd bother" Levi suggested.

Hange's eyes widened "Do you think it might have something do with them both being titans?"

"Possibly, but Quinn didn't know until recently that she could become a titan so I find it unlikely" Morgan replied "Unless Florence already knew".

"But what if there's some kind of psychic link between titans?" Hange asked.

"I have no idea to be honest, but you're the smarter one so what do you think?" Morgan said.

"I'll have to conduct more research first" Hange said "Wait, what if we let Quinn and Eren meet and see if they know anything?"

"They're both new to the titan power and have little knowledge of it but it's worth a shot" Erwin concluded.

* * *

 **Character Profile:** Wilhelm Adler

Height: 192cm

Weight: 92kg

Age: **25** (At the fall of Wall Maria, year 845) **30** (At the Battle of Trost, year 850)

Hair color: Blond

Eye color: Aquamarine

Grade: Warrant Officer/ Squad Captain

Affiliation: Wall Garrison (Previously the Survey Corps)

Race: Human

Birthday: 12th July

Friends: Hange Zoe, Quinn Mason, Morgan St Clare, Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith, Mike Zacharius

Enemies: Titans, Florence Bellerose

 **Stats:**

Combat: 10/10

Initiative: 8/10

Wits: 7/10

Teamwork: 7/10

Intelligence: 6/10

Knowing Things: 11/10

Humanities Strongest Soldiers Rank: 17/100

* * *

 **Character Profile:** Morgan St Clare **V2**

Height: 176cm (Year 845) 178cm (Year 850)

Weight: 72kg

Age: **17** (At the fall of Wall Maria, year 845) **22** (At the Battle of Trost)

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Stone grey

Grade: Lieutenant

Affiliation: Wall Garrison

Race: Human

Birthday: 21st September

Friends: Hange Zoe, Quinn Mason, Levi Ackerman (Kind of), Wilhelm Adler, Mike Zacharius and Erwin Smith

Enemies: Titans, Florence Bellerose

 **Stats:**

Combat: 9/10

Initiative: 7/10

Wits: 6/10

Teamwork: 4/10

Intelligence: 9/10

Durability: 11/10

Humanities Strongest Soldiers Rank: 21/100

Morgan has lower Wits and Teamwork stats than most other leaders, this is because Morgan tends to work alone. He does not normally command a squad, rather he commands a Regiment of squads from atop the walls so is normally not in the midst of battle when in a city, during the Battle of Trost he did not yet have command of his Regiment again. When in titan territory he tends to work alongside other squads on his own but does not join them, this is because his method of combat is different. When acting as a Field Commander, Morgan relies on his Intelligence and Combat Skill rather than his Wits or Teamwork to win a fight by planning far into the future instead of making up the next move at the last minute as is the case with most squad leaders, if there is a sudden change in the events around him that interferes with his predetermined plan, it can derail everything. The advantage of this is a better sense of when and where things shall take place and having greater time to plan a more effective strategy, the disadvantage is that making quick decisions in the heat of battle such as changing a squad's task on the spot is more difficult.

Morgan normally finds applying his above average intelligence to problem solving difficult for unknown reasons, however when in the vicinity of Hange Zoe he becomes able to apply it more effectively because of her incredible creativity and intelligence of her own, it is most likely due to inspiration.

 **Character Pros:** Strong willed, adaptable, high tolerance for both people and pain, inquisitive, sociable but doesn't talk much, normally well mannered and polite.

 **Character Cons:** Often oblivious to events around him if he focuses on one thing too much including people's emotions, his mind drifts from time to time, can be over-zealous at times, over-methodical, generally prefers to work alone, when with Hange Zoe they become masters at pissing Levi off.

 **HTSA: Horizontal Titan Slaying Armor**

(Includes Blast Hammer, Crossbow not included in weight as it is separate)

Weight: 48kg

Composition: High carbon steel

Armor: Sallet Helm, chest plate, pauldrons, gauntlets, bracers, shin guards/boots, midriff armor and tassets.

Movement: Locomotion aided by gas propulsion nozzles located at the ankles. Limited vertical (up and down) movement via wrist mounted grappling cable (Not for use when moving in a fight).

 **Pros:** Allows for more effective titan fighting while on flat and featureless terrain, can match up to a 4m class titan without a horse if assisted by gas propulsion and Blast Hammer, difficult to be consumed by anything smaller than a 10m class titan, Blast Hammer more effective at incapacitating a titan than a sword, gas assisted propulsion jumping allows the user to free-run and break falls with jumps up to 3m high, Blast Hammer can break hardened titan skin.

 **Cons:** Slower and less maneuverable compared to 3DMG, normally requires a horse to combat larger titans, requires two strikes to slay a titan as opposed to one unless the titan's nape is within reach of the Blast Hammer therefore slower but more reliable, metal armor makes titan generated steam more intolerable, user is heavy due to armor's weight.

A drawing of Morgan in his armor can be seen on the story's thumbnail image, visit my Deviantart: Duke-Statian for more pictures.

* * *

*(I'll draw you your OC if you can tell me which AoT/SnK fanfiction I referenced)


	14. Attack on Hope

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 14**

 **Chapter rated M for torture, it's not too graphic it's just the principle of it although this is going to get harsh and grim, it's time we had a more mature chapter, also spoilers from beyond the Anime and then probably the greatest AoT scene ever written, ever.**

* * *

"Alright Quinn, keep at it, I'll be back in an hour" Levi said as he passed by towards the dungeon entrance, Morgan and Hange appeared as well from the main door.

"Hey Morgan, whatcha doing?" Quinn beamed cheerfully while striking the dummy.

"Interrogating" Morgan said as he carried bolt cutters, a hacksaw and a hatchet, Hange carried some chains but didn't pay Quinn any attention. They walked down the steps to the dungeons and disappeared from view.

"Ok, have fun!" Quinn called out "Don't be too mean to Flo though, she's still kinda my friend".

The three walked up to Florence Bellerose as she was chained up to the dungeon wall "Morning" She said spitefully.

"Morning!" Hange grinned then dropped the extra chains, Morgan set the tools down.

"Sorry Florence but it wasn't my idea" Morgan said "But you kinda deserve it" He walked back and leaned against the wall near the door, he wasn't too fond of torture.

"So what do you know about the titans then?" Levi asked simply.

Florence rolled her eyes "I don't actually know anything, I explained this to Wilhelm".

"And did he believe you?" Levi asked.

"Yes".

Levi smashed her in the face with his fist and blood trickled down from her nose, it had healed since yesterday.

"Seeing as you regenerate within 24 hours, we can keep doing this. After all, you're not immune to pain are you?" Hange said in a dark and serious tone "And then I'll dissect you" She added with a gleeful twist.

Florence's eyes widened slightly "I told you, I really don't know anything".

"Then why and how are you a titan?" Levi asked.

"I don't know, I get these instinctive urges when I have a job to do like back in Trost, something compelled me to attack" Florence tried to explain.

"That's not an answer we're looking for" Levi said and picked up the bolt cutters.

Florence yanked on the chains "Do you really think that I'd lie to you given the circumstances?"

"Yes, because you have something to hide" Levi replied and wacked Florence over the head with the tool and blood ran from her temple.

"I-I really don't" Florence gasped.

"A normal human would likely be unconscious from that, so your titan power gives you greater pain tolerance then?" Hange said and noted it down in her book.

"I-I guess" Florence replied.

"So are you a pawn in someone else's game?" Levi asked.

"I might be but my earliest memory is from five years ago when Shiganshina fell" Florence explained.

Levi acknowledged the statement "You're going to get killed either way so you might as well make it worthwhile to us" He lifted the bolt cutters and put her left hand's fingers between the blades.

"S-stop I don't-".

Morgan put his hands over his ears as the resulting scream of agony echoed and reverberated throughout the dungeon. He still observed the torture process despite how grim it was.

"Welcome to the real world, bitch" Levi spat "You don't kill all those people and get away with it, you boiled them alive, do you really think this is half of what my men felt when you consumed them?"

Florence bit back a tear "S-stop". Thick, dark red blood dripped from her hand in globules then splattered against the stone floor.

Hange's complexion turned to that of an evil genius and it unsettled Morgan "Is there anything at all you can tell us then?"

Florence remained silent as blood poured from her lost fingers.

"You know, as a titan you bare the same hatred I hold for all your kind, unfortunately, we don't get sentient ones often" Levi said in a dull voice and picked up the hatchet "We can keep going, I don't care if you regenerate, we'll outlast you before you lose your sanity" He hacked into her leg with a clean swing of the small wood axe.

Once again Morgan covered his ears and turned a blind eye to the horror before him.

"S-since I'm gonna die here... why don't I just transform and kill you all?" Florence whispered and winced.

Levi stopped hacking at her leg and looked her in the eyes "THERE'S SOMETHING YOU KNOW AND I WANT IT" Levi shouted and wacked her with the back of the axe head.

"No, no I do not".

Levi grabbed her by the throat and throttled her to which Florence let out a gasp of pain, he tightened his grip and she choked then he smacked her head against the wall and let her go.

"We can keep doing this" Levi said then unwrapped a set of Hange's scalpels, he then gestured to Morgan's hammer beside him "Which one do you want first? I don't mind but the scalpels will take longer".

Florence was choking on her own blood "Fine, lets take this slowly then" Levi spat then picked up Morgan's war hammer that had been detached from his HTSA, at three kilograms and four feet in length it was a fearsome weapon even without the explosive attached. Levi swung it into the knee of the uninjured leg and smashed it to bits internally.

"Alright now the spiked end" Levi said and raised the hammer to strike Florence's shoulder.

A crossbow bolt zipped across the dingy dungeon and impaled Florence through the forehead, she rocked back then fell forward in a slump, still held up by the chains.

"She doesn't know, Levi. That's enough" Wilhelm said from the entrance as he lowered Morgan's crossbow.

"What the fuck did you just do?" Levi spun around in fury "She was..."

"She didn't know a thing" Wilhelm calmly replied "I put her out of her misery".

Hange stared at Florence's body and readjusted her glasses "Well, on to dissection I guess" She said cheerfully then picked up her scalpels.

Levi remembered Wilhelm's ability to simply know things by reading people's eyes "Tch" He spat and dropped the hammer, crossed the dungeon and barged past Wilhelm.

Morgan turned to Wilhelm "Thanks, I think that was getting out of hand".

"I don't agree with torture" Wilhelm replied then handed the crossbow back to Morgan.

"We won't learn anything now though" Morgan said with slight irritation "This was almost pointless and now we've lost our prime source of information".

"It's unfortunate, but we will have other chances no doubt" Wilhelm replied.

Morgan nodded "I suppose, but what about those six soldiers we lost just trying to retrieve her?"

"I'm just glad we kept one alive".

"I suppose, I'll send a message to Dot Pixis to see if he can transfer Cecilia Mathias to the Survey Corps for a while, I want as many people who have witnessed titan shifting to be present during the 57th expedition in case things take a turn for the worse" Morgan said.

"NO!" Hange screamed and Wilhelm and Morgan turned to her to see Florence's body rapidly steam and decay like a titan's.

"Now I won't get to perform the dissection!" Hange whined and kicked the bolt cutters then instantly regretted it as pain shot through her foot.

Florence's body generated so much heat that the cast iron chains that held her began to glow orange and melt. She fell to the floor and burst into flames.

"Whoa, titans don't normally do that" Wilhelm remarked.

The right arm of Florence rose up from the flames and reached out "Crap, she can animate her body before it's destroyed remember" Wilhelm swore then stamped on it.

"That was a bit of an overreaction" Morgan said "She can't do..."

Florence's remains exploded from the intense heat and blew everyone backwards into the wall. The smoke and steam cleared then the flames died down to nothing. Hange coughed and Morgan rubbed his head from where it had been whacked against the wall.

Hange staggered up "Even in death she tries to kill us" She joked half heartedly.

Wilhelm and Morgan both got up, fortunately none of them were actually hurt.

"I didn't see that one coming" Wilhelm remarked and rubbed his arm.

"I AM NOT DONE YET" A vicious voice echoed throughout the dungeon and everyone turned to face where Florence had been. A blood red mist gathered and the façade of the Crimson Steam Titan glowered out from it with pulsating luminous eyes and wicked grin, it then dissipated into the air and the room fell silent once more.

[#]

"Hey, how'd it go?" Quinn asked cheerfully as she sat cross-legged beside the training dummy, she was exhausted now "Levi didn't look too happy".

"That was about as weird as it gets" Morgan exclaimed as he carried the equipment back to the castle, the three were too engrossed in their conversation to notice Quinn.

"I've never known a titan to do that before, yet alone explode" Hange said.

"She animated her titan's body once before but that was it" Wilhelm explained "What now?"

"We move on to investigating our _friendly_ titan more thoroughly, we need to make up for the loss of Florence, Sonny and Bean" Hange said.

Quinn stood up suddenly _Florence is dead?_

Annie Leonheart walked by with Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover, Annie picked up the conversation as they passed "She's dead?" She whispered.

"Who is?" Reiner asked.

"The girl I told you about, Florence the Crimson Steam Titan, it looks like they got to her first" Annie said in a hushed tone then changed course away from the dungeon entrance and out of the courtyard to avoid suspicion.

"You thought we could recruit her?" Reiner asked, Bertolt was quiet as usual.

"Yes, but she's dead now" Annie scowled slightly.

"I heard of another one here within the castle, not Jaeger but a girl" Bertolt spoke up.

"Without a name there's no point in trying to recruit her, it will only cause trouble that we can't afford" Annie explained.

[#]

"So this is what the officer's lounge looks like" Quinn said and looked around the room "It's kinda dull".

Levi, Erwin, Eren, Wilhelm, Morgan, Mike and Hange looked at her blankly.

"Oh did I say something wrong?" Quinn asked innocently.

"No it's fine, Quinn" Erwin said "This is Eren Jaeger, a recruit from the 104th Trainee Corps and he is a titan shifter like you, we want to discuss the power and see if we can come to any conclusions".

Quinn looked Eren up and down, she had only seen him from afar or as a titan before "Ok".

"Take a seat please" Erwin gestured to the large table that they had brought in especially for the meeting, everyone present took a chair.

"Now that Florence Bellerose is dead, we must rely on you two as our sources of information regarding the titans. While I know that you do not know much, in time our examinations and tests shall shed some light on our foes" Erwin explained "In thirteen days time we shall depart for our latest expedition into titan held Wall Maria, in the meantime we wish to find out as much as possible from you".

"Yes sir" Eren said and Quinn nodded.

"Alright, let's begin" Erwin said and took out some papers.

Quinn put her hand up "Sir, why... why is Florence dead?" She asked sadly despite Florence being the Crimson Steam Titan, after all despite what she had done, she had saved her life previously.

Erwin cleared his throat "That's one of the things we shall discuss".

[#]

 **The next day**

Levi awoke to the sound of nails being hammered into wood from within the courtyard and people shouting to and fro, he had neglected to shut the window and today was his day off. He cursed under his breath and got out of bed to see what was causing the racket.

"Oops! I didn't mean to pull that".

"Hey just hold on, I'll get you down!"

"Tch, bloody four eyes" Levi cursed as he observed what Hange Zoe was doing atop a wooden pillar that had rope, chains and an array of things sticking out of it "What the hell are you..."

Levi looked to his left and saw Morgan St Clare dangling by his ankle, upside down and swinging side to side on rope leading from the crane like device, he had his arms folded and remained calm despite his predicament. Hange stepped cautiously along the boom and made her way towards Morgan while twenty meters up in the air, unfortunately he wasn't wearing his armor so escape was going to be tricky.

"For god's sake, what the hell are you doing?" Levi asked irritably from his window. Hange and Morgan both looked up suddenly to see who had spoken, or rather Morgan looked down as his perspective was reversed.

"Oh, hi Levi!" Hange beamed.

"Morgan, what the fuck are you doing?" Levi swore and face-palmed.

"Hange's idea" Morgan replied and swung gently but remained calm.

"You didn't answer my question" Levi said irritably.

"Riding a horse, what does it look like?" Morgan replied sarcastically.

Hange sniggered then lost her footing and fell off the beam, then the safety rope that was tied to her ankle pulled taut and she joined Morgan upside down below their giant contraption "Fuck".

Morgan looked at Hange and Hange looked at Morgan "Well it works" Hange spoke up and Morgan nodded. Levi just stared then they both looked his way "Can we help you?"

"You two are a joke" Levi said and shook his head "What is this?"

"A titan trap, the Titan Noose 3000" Morgan answered and looked proudly at their joint effort.

"No, I thought we agreed that it was 2.0 not 3000" Hange argued.

"3000 sounds better" Morgan replied.

"But this is version two?" Hange reasoned and scratched her head.

"The 3000 doesn't mean anything though" Morgan said.

"Exactly so it must be 2.0".

"3000 makes it sound more impressive".

Levi turned his head every time one of them spoke, like a pointless ping pong argument.

"Uh, so how does it work?" Levi interjected, he was actually curious.

"Like a noose, we use someone as bait and wrap a chain around the titan's neck to hold it so we can study it, we then activate the foot clamps to make sure it doesn't try and pull it down" Morgan explained.

"We're still working on the hand restraints though" Hange added.

Levi gave the wooden contraption one more look then slammed the window to his room "Hey, Levi, come back we can't get down!" Hange called after him but it was useless, he was gone.

"It just occurred to me, how will we move this out of the courtyard?" Morgan asked after looking away from where Levi had been.

"Oh, good question" Hange replied.

[#]

Quinn sat on her bed within the castle, the other members of her dorm had gone to train but since it was Levi's day off, she would go and train by herself later in the day.

 _Florence is dead._

She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her tired head on them then sighed, three years of brutal training with the girl and she was dead, she didn't know why or how she died and she sure as hell didn't think Levi and Hange were _actually_ going to torture her, but then Levi never joked so she wasn't sure what to think of it.

Despite killing her fellow soldiers, lying about her identity and attacking her estate five years ago, Quinn still felt sympathy towards her only friend in the 101st Trainee Corps, she was too confused and so tried to cast it from her mind instead.

[#]

Levi walked beside Petra as they crossed the courtyard; they were going to tend to their horses. He heard a creak and the rattle of a chain then looked to his right to see Hange and Morgan still hanging upside down below the beam of their contraption.

"The hell you still doing up there?" Levi scorned and Petra's cheeks went red then she burst into a giggly fit.

"No one will help us down" Morgan replied, he was still hanging with his arms folded calmly.

"H-hey Levi, I think my head's going fuzzy now" Hange said half asleep, she had dozed off.

"It's been two hours already" Levi said and stopped walking, Petra stopped as well.

"Wilhelm just laughed at us" Morgan said.

"We asked Eren if he would transform into a titan to help us but he said it would be irresponsible of him to use his power" Hange said sadly as she yawned.

"He can still help you down though?" Petra said "As a human".

"No, he said that he wanted breakfast first and then he'd be back but that was an hour ago" Morgan replied.

Levi blinked at them blankly then turned and carried on his way towards the stables, Petra glanced back but followed after him.

Morgan and Hange both looked at each other "So I was thinking about the anatomy of a titan and..." Hange began one of their average talks about titans despite their situation, there was nothing better to do.

"Wait, it just occurred to me..." Hange said "You must have joined the military at ten years old if you spent four years in the Garrison before we lost Wall Maria".

Morgan turned to her "Yes, my dad was a captain in the Wall Garrison and took me to the Officer Commissioning Academy in the capital, I was left there when my dad was pronounce MIA during a wall maintenance operation. The first year and a half was just classroom based training, I didn't pick up a sword until I was twelve and I joined the Garrison at thirteen, I then spent four years there until I was given permission by Commander Pixis to leave to become a private security officer as I was not really able to do much due to the lack of titans to fight but our agreement was that I would return if I was ever needed. Then six months later Wall Maria fell and a few months after that I turned eighteen, now five years on I'm twenty two yet still look like a teenager".

"So you got the special treatment because of your dad?"

"I wouldn't call it special, I just started early and have good contacts, what about you?"

"Oh well first I..." Hange began her story, unknown to Morgan it would take many hours to tell.

[#]

 **Titan occupied Wall Maria, far to the east of Karanese district.**

The crimson wisp floated gently through the air towards Wall Maria, the district beyond that had long since been evacuated many years before when the wall fell. A crack was all the small cloud of red needed to enter inside the giant wall, it found what it was looking for, a new host to occupy for the girl Florence Bellerose had served her purpose, the malevolent wisp had inhabited her body for long enough and while the form of the Crimson Steam Titan was formidable and dangerous, it had past its usefulness as the humans had defeated it on numerous occasions now and it had not succeeded in crippling humanity.

The wisp disappeared and the wall shuddered violently, a deep rumbling groan echoed throughout the endless grassy planes around the wall and larger cracks began to appear. A red, skinless hand reached out and broke away the stone that imprisoned it. The face was then revealed and red steam began to seep out, the teeth grew immensely and malformed the jaw line, it's eyes glowed white and it rose up and out of the crumbing section of wall. Bedrock and rubble cascaded off its immense form as two giant shoulders pivoted upwards as it rose higher and higher into the sky until it stood up to a height of fifty meters, the same as the wall itself. The Wall Titan shook off the rest of the wall around it and stepped out, leaving a huge breach, fortunately for humanity, this breach was of no consequence since it was made in an already breached wall, the wisp regretted not being able to take control of one of the Wall Titans inhabiting Wall Rose.

It thundered out of the crushed masonry and looked around, it's huge pillar like legs crushed a nearby house by accident but it did not pay any attention, its new form was intriguing; it raised its disproportionate arm, not unlike that of the Colossal Titan who was just ten meters taller than itself and examined it before turning back to the wall and grasping the left side of the breach, it pulled with all its gargantuan strength; a flat slab, perhaps thirty meters across broke away and thundered down then exploded into the earth and threw up a storm of dust.

Another Wall Titan was revealed and as the sunlight touched its face for the fist time in over one hundred years, it slowly turned its eyes to look at the one who had freed it with a blank, skinless expression but instead of freeing it further, the titan grabbed it and ripped its head from its shoulders then cast it aside and began to tear great chunks from the decapitated body and consume them furiously.

A while later, only a third of the dead Wall Titan remained and the wisp controlled titan had eaten its fill. Crimson steam began spurting from the gaps in its muscles and a great cloud began to generate from the flesh it had consumed. Soon a hurricane enveloped the colossus and only its lower arms and façade could be seen from the whirling storm, it stepped forward, west in the direction of Karanese then righted itself to travel south west towards Trost, it would be a long walk but it would return eventually. Another massive step forward and the wisp had learned how to walk with such an immense body, the storm grew faster and as it was so large; thunder started to rumble along side it, something that the Crimson Steam Titan could not accomplish due to its relatively small size. Huge bolts of electricity began sparking off; multiplied in numbers and frequency by a factor of ten, it was a walking tornado of boiling blood vapor and destruction. Trees and flammable substances burst into flame from the incredible heat, even a brass bell atop a tower began to glow and weaken although it did not melt; it had warped and deformed. The power of the storm even turned the sky blood red around it. It opened its huge jaws and bellowed a bloodcurdling roar throughout the world, even in Trost they would hear it.

The Crimson Storm Titan had awoken.

[#]

 **8pm, Survey Corps HQ**

"Morgan?" Hange mumbled.

"Yeah?" Morgan replied.

"I'm starting to feel sick".

"Me too" Morgan slowly turned his head to Hange, he had long since abandoned his calm complexion and folded arms so just hung there "Do you think anyone's going to help?"

"No" Hange sulked "They're a bunch of pricks, all of 'em".

"Wait, did you hear that?" Morgan asked.

"Hear what?"

"Nothing, it sounded like a roar though" Morgan sighed then looked at Hange's waist "Uh, Hange?"

"Yes?"

"What's that attached to your waist?"

Hange looked down "Oh, that's just my 3DMG" She said obliviously. Morgan swore violently under his breath despite rarely swearing and being well spoken.

A window opened up beside them and Levi popped his head out "About fucking time you idiots realized, god, no wonder no one let you down" he scorned "You're supposed to be the smart ones".

Hange swung sideways gently and looked at Levi's upside down face "Oh".

"Hange... how?" Morgan whispered and face-palmed "You have your bloody 3DMG and you didn't think to use it to get down?"

Hange thought for a moment "Why didn't _you_ notice then?"

"Shut up and get us down" Morgan said dismissively, although he knew that he was as bad as Hange in this situation for not noticing the obvious escape route.

"Ok, ok. I'll get us down" Hange said and clicked the triggers but nothing happened "N-no..."

"What? What happened?" Morgan asked desperately.

"No gas" Hange whispered in despair.

[#]

Hours had passed and Levi was in bed after an easy day of doing jack all plus a bit of cleaning but woke suddenly to an explosion followed by his room shuddering. Seconds later a creaking sound like a falling tree filled his ears and then a colossal crash followed which shook the room even more, Levi rubbed his eyes then opened the window again to the cool night air.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS PLAYING AT? IT'S TWO IN THE FUCKING MORNING!" Levi roared.

"We're down!" Hange sung and danced around the gloomy courtyard. Morgan staggered up then looked up at the utterly furious Levi, no doubt others had heard the catastrophic noise as well.

"Oh, sorry Levi" Morgan said and stepped out from the splintered wood but then tripped over the safety rope that he had neglected to untie from his ankle, he fell forward with a crash and Hange burst into laughter.

Morgan had decided that the last option had to be taken and that meant destroying their prized creation, he took a blasting cap from his belt pouch and dropped it towards the base of the pillar, to no one's surprise it blew the base to bits and then the rest was straight forward.

Levi's complexion was like a demon's, he slammed the window and left his room behind while grabbing his hooded cloak.

"Oh shit, run!" Hange half panicked, half giggled and Morgan hastily untied the rope and got up. Hange and Morgan both turned to hear Levi opening the great main door to the castle and he sprinted out towards them, Hange yanked Morgan by the arm and the troublesome pair ran away from the furious captain.

"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!" Levi roared and pursued them while Hange giggled uncontrollably as she and Morgan ran like hell.

Lights went on in the castle and windows opened to find Levi chasing Hange and Morgan around the courtyard in circles, Hange yelped as Levi leaped on her, they rolled around on the courtyard as the captain throttled her, Morgan took one of the nets that was part of the ruined construct and threw it over Levi, much to his fury. Hange scampered up and took Morgan's hand then the pair ran out of the courtyard and back into the castle.

"WHAT DO WE DO?" Hange panicked.

"I DON'T KNOW, I'M GETTING MY ARMOR, GET YOUR SWORDS, GET YOUR HORSE, GET FRIGGIN JAEGER EVEN!" Morgan panicked as well and the two ran away through the dim hallways.

"AHAHAHAHAH!" Hange laughed uncontrollably at the once-in-a-lifetime event that was occurring "It's like lethal hide-and-seek!"

Morgan grinned and they turned off to his room, they entered then barricaded the door behind them and Morgan hastily put his armor on while Hange giggled with her back to the door.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Levi could be heard as he closed the distance in a fit of rage.

Morgan lowered the visor of his helmet then went to hold the door shut, Hange hid under the bed. Levi almost tore the door off its hinges before Morgan reached it and swung a backbreaking punch straight at him without taking heed of his surroundings.

The punch connected.

Levi's eyes widened in realization, he had been too furious to even think clearly, it was perhaps his first mistake in years.

"Oh dear..." Morgan said from beneath his helmet.

Levi slowly removed his hand from where he had blindly struck out, he had punched Morgan in his steel chest plate, a seriously bad move.

Hange crawled out from under the bed and grabbed Morgan then left the simmering Levi behind, his rage made him blind to the searing pain in his fist from where he punched steel.

"We're so dead" Hange giggled "Thank god he hasn't got his 3DMG".

"I'm gonna sit in the corner and curl up like a tortoise, he can't kill me in armor" Morgan said as they ran, he clunked with every footstep.

"What about me?" Hange gasped.

"I think we're beyond redemption now..."

* * *

(I couldn't resist writing this scene, all a bit of fun and I needed good filler material, I hope you enjoyed the ridiculousness, Levi certainly didn't but don't take it too seriously, the 57th expedition comes next so we'll return to being serious, well except the torture scene and the new enemy was pretty serious but you get what I mean)

* * *

 **Character Profile:** Crimson Storm Titan

Height: 50m

 **Stats:**

Power: 10/10

Speed: 2/10

Threat: 9/10

Toughness: 10/10

Hotness: 11/10

[#]

 **Character Profile:** Quinn Mason

Height: 158cm

Weight: 52kg

Age: **17** (At the fall of Wall Maria, year 845) **22** (At the fall of Wall Maria)

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Brown

Grade: Lance Corporal

Affiliation: Wall Garrison

Race: Human

Birthday: 31st December

Friends: Morgan St Clare, Wilhelm Adler, Petra Ral, Florence Bellerose (Formerly)

Enemies: Titans, Hange Zoe.

 **Stats:**

Combat: 2/10

Initiative: 7/10

Wits: 8/10

Teamwork: 10/10

Intelligence: 8/10

Determination: 11/10

Air-headedness: 10/10

Humanities Strongest Soldiers Rank: Ahahahahahah! Oh Quinn, you are funny (In all seriousness though she is 49,992/50,000+ soldiers).

 **Character Pros:** Compassionate, determined, loyal, hard working and helpful.

 **Character Cons:** Air-headed, weak willed, easy to scare, jealous.

[#]

* * *

Hi Hillie, I checked out your Instagram. I'm also working on a light novel of my own although you're much better at drawing than I am. Also check out my new spinoff AoT fanfiction **Attack on Titan: Bird of the Stone Cage.**

* * *

 **Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 14.5 Attack on Shenanigans  
**

* * *

Just when you thought it was over... Hey look, a bonus chapter!

* * *

 **12 Days until the 57th Expedition.**

 _On that day Levi remembered; just how much he fucking hated Hange and Morgan's antics. Welcome to the Special Chapter! Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Trouble Makers!_

"Hange?" Erwin asked as he walked into the officer's lounge.

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing Morgan's HTSA?"

"Levi".

"What do you mean?" Erwin asked and went to the sink.

"And I call it the Anti Levi Armor now" Hange replied and sat motionless in her chair while staring dead ahead.

"What are you on about?" Erwin asked with a calm complexion.

The door opened and Levi strode in with a scowl on his face then glared at Hange.

"Eep!" Hange squeaked and closed the visor of the sallet helm then held her head, bracing for the impending shit-storm.

"How is your hand, Levi?" Erwin asked.

"Tch, it's fine" Levi spat and took a broom from the corner and left as suddenly as he had arrived.

Hange let out a sigh of relief "Thank god" She took the helmet off and placed it on the table then returned to eating her breakfast.

"He seemed pissed" Erwin remarked and leaned on the counter.

"You don't know the half of it" Hange said and finished her toast, she then got up awkwardly and took the plate to the sink "How the hell does he walk in this thing?"

"He's used to it" Erwin replied.

Hange walked stiffly to the door and stumbled but righted herself "Seeing as we're all set to go on the mission, Morgan and I are going to be doing titan research and building things".

"You're prepared twelve days in advance?" Erwin asked, clearly impressed.

"Yep, we want as much time as possible to piss off Levi".

"What?"

"I, uh... meant conduct important research!" Hange said and hurried out of the door.

[#]

 **Outside castle grounds, near training forest**

"Hey, Levi what's that sound?" Petra asked as she walked close by to her captain, they were going on a brisk morning walk together although only one of them knew it was kind of romantic.

"It better not be... fuck" Levi swore as they walked around the bend of the path to find the source of the hammer strikes.

"Get that lever there and pull the rope, I'll get the bracers!"

"Got it!" Ok, on three!"

Levi observed what Hange and Morgan were constructing now, then walked up behind them. It seemed to be a giant crossbow on wheels.

"Woop woop!" Hange celebrated "It's complete!"

"What is?" Levi said suddenly from behind the pair.

Hange panicked and grabbed her swords and Morgan closed the visor of his helmet and drew his hammer alongside a tower shield that he didn't have before "Enact the Anti Levi Defense Protocol!" Morgan announced and crouched behind his shield alongside Hange.

Levi glanced around then turned his attention back to the two people before him "Calm the fuck down" He snapped.

Morgan raised his visor then nodded to Hange, they both sheathed their weapons and Morgan propped up his tower shield on a nearby tree "Target not hostile".

"What the hell are you two doing now?" Levi asked forcefully, he was still pissed off from the night before. He walked up and examined the new device.

"This is the Anti Titan Mobile Ballista 1.4" Morgan announced with pride.

"No, we said it would be Anti Titan Mobile Ballista 2500" Hange argued.

Levi face palmed "What does it do?" He asked before they bickered even further.

"We'll show you" Hange said and pulled a handle then loaded a huge spear like projectile with a head designed to stick into a target and not come out again, a thick rope was attached to the end and was coiled in a pile. The device was almost twice as large as a cannon, had four wheels and resembled a giant crossbow.

"Morgan get that lever and crank the string" Hange said and Morgan spun the lever to wind the bowstring back.

Levi walked a bit closer and unknowingly stepped into the coil of rope "So I assume you shoot it into a titan and tie up the other end to capture it?"

"Exactly!" Hange beamed "Ok prepare to fire!"

"Wait Hange, we didn't tie it to the tree yet" Morgan reached out but Hange pulled the trigger.

The giant bolt whistled through the air into the forest and the rope began uncoiling with it.

"Was that it? I'm..." Levi was cut short as the rope pulled taught around his ankle and he shot off with the projectile, Petra gasped as the bolt embedded itself in a tree with Levi hanging upside down by his ankle, the rope had coiled around his foot when he had stepped closer.

"HANGE!"

Morgan dropped the wrench and nail hammer he was holding then ran off towards the castle with Hange close behind him "Weeheehee!" Hange whooped in delight.

"I told you, the rope wasn't tied around the tree!" Morgan said as they ran.

"Oops!"

"Are you trying to kill us?"

"No, but I am" Levi said coolly as he sailed through the air close behind them on his 3DMG.

"Oh crap!" Hange swore then combat rolled to dodge a lightning fast swing from a big stick Levi had found.

"Evasive actions!" Morgan announced then lowered the visor of his helmet and the two carried on running. Hange shot away on her 3DMG towards the castle rooftop and Morgan fired his wrist mounted grappling cable at a tree to his left to catch Levi as he flew by.

Levi danced around the cable like a ballerina in mid air and descended on Morgan with the stick raised. Morgan retracted the cable after his failed attempt at slowing down his enemy and drew his hammer, he turned around just in time to parry the stick but he stumbled backwards at his sudden change in momentum and hit a tree.

Petra ran after them on foot to see Morgan get whacked in the head by the stick, he stumbled forward but it glanced off of his helmet. Hange turned back from the castle on her 3DMG but now had a mop in hand and charged at Levi from the air but Levi deflected it off his stick. Morgan smashed the stick in half with his hammer but got kicked in the chest and forced back against the tree, he sheathed his hammer then punched back which Levi darted away from.

The three dueled furiously and backed into a grove of trees, Hange swung the mop handle but Levi caught it and yanked it off her then whacked her over the head which sent her stumbling backwards "No, he has the mop!" Hange cried and Morgan spun around then lashed out with a metal clad round house kick, Levi dropped his knees low then lowered his back to the ground like he was dodging a bullet then clicked the trigger of his 3DMG to propel himself back upwards as the kick swung away from his face, he then took the mop in hand and jammed the end into the back of Morgan's knee where the armor didn't cover. Morgan fell over from the sudden dead-leg but Hange dived on Levi with a snarl and they rolled on the ground but Levi shook her off then snatched her glasses off of her head "Damnit that's cheating!"

Petra watched helplessly as three of Humanities mightiest heroes dueled for the mop. Hange's vision went blurry so failed to dodge the mop handle to the head. Morgan backhanded Levi's arm as he held up the glasses and they skidded away back to Hange.

"Tch" Levi spat then dived to the side to dodge a fist, he then spun around low to the ground and kicked the back of Morgan's other knee and he fell forward with a metallic crash. Hange staggered up and put her glasses back on then fired her 3DMG cables either side of Levi into two different trees then Morgan propped himself up and fired his wrist mounted cable to intersect the two other cables which trapped Levi in a close knit triangle of steel wire; Levi was impressed at the fact that they didn't even need to communicate to pull off such a move.

"Clever" Levi said slyly then dropped low and hooked his arms around Hange's cables and yanked them which pulled Hange off her feet and tangled the wires with Morgan's. She fell forward just as Levi combat rolled out of the mess of wire. Morgan stood up but dragged Hange with him as he retracted his cable "Untangle it first!" Hange yelled.

Morgan hastily pulled the wires apart as Hange retracted them, the mop struck Hange in the back as Levi attacked, Hange fell head over heels in a combat roll formed from the momentum of the strike and picked up a fallen stick and parried the next strike from Levi. Morgan removed his helmet then raised it up behind Levi and stuck the corporal's head in it.

"Oi, fuck you!" Levi's voice was muffled underneath the steel of the helmet. Hange whacked Levi over the head with her stick and Morgan grabbed the mop and smacked him in the head as well, Levi was not accustomed to looked through the narrow vision slit of a helmet and so couldn't dodge the strikes, he stumbled from the blunt force.

"Guys, how long are you gonna keep fighting?" Petra asked with a worried look on her face.

The trio ignored her. Levi turned then head butted Morgan with the helmet, he pulled it off and held it by the plume then swung it like a flail at Hange as she attempted to attack, the helmet smashed through her stick and splintered it. Levi dropped the helmet on her foot then spun to catch a sundering gauntlet clad fist from Morgan then, using all of his strength; flipped all 120 kilograms of man and armor over his shoulder right on top of Hange.

"Tch" Levi breathed heavier than usual but hid it behind a stern complexion, the fight had taken its toll on him as prolonged combat was not his thing. Morgan was lying face first on top of Hange and they were both exhausted, they formed an X shape on the ground as they lay in a heap.

Levi walked up to the troublesome pair to gloat but Morgan stuck his foot out.

"What's this, a victory hand shake?" Levi asked with a scowl.

"You don't handshake with a foot" Morgan mumbled.

"Tch".

"I'm not done yet" Morgan clicked the trigger on his hammer and a blast of gas was propelled from the jump assist at his ankles and catapulted Levi backwards. Morgan staggered up and Hange followed too, they had been faking defeat to draw Levi closer in a false sense of security.

Levi stood up and picked the fallen mop up off the ground and spun it thrice then crouched low in a fighting stance.

Morgan picked up his helmet and put it back on, Hange readjusted her glasses menacingly.

"What are you guys doing?" Erwin asked as he walked up beside Petra.

Levi, Hange and Morgan all turned to face him.

"Save it for the titans" Erwin said "Levi, what did they do this time?"

Levi glowered at the duo then stalked off silently back to the castle. Hange and Morgan both fell over in relief, not even both of them together could fight humanities strongest soldier, even if it was a play fight.

"Next time, I'm using my hammer" Morgan panted.

"I want an army before I try that again" Hange gasped for breath.

"I second the thought" Morgan replied "That gives me an idea".

"What?"

"We should design an Anti Levi Device" Morgan suggested.

"That sounds great, we'll need a volunteer to test it though".

"Just build a giant mouse trap and put a new feather duster in it for him" Morgan chuckled and regained his breath then sat upright.

"Perhaps we should spend the rest of the day researching, I'm done with our contraptions for the time being" Hange said as she stretched in a starfish shape on the ground and rubbed her head.

"Yeah, let's plan our trap for another day".

[#]

"Hange?" Morgan said as they sat at the table in Hange's office.

"Yeah?"

"I'm bored".

"Me too" Hange replied and put her book down.

"How long are we going to be locked in here?" Morgan asked.

"Well it's 2PM now and Levi said we can't come out until dinner" Hange explained.

Morgan was out of his armor for the time being, these days he spent more time in I than out of it, mostly because it was a hassle to put it on "We should do something".

"There's nothing to do in my office, except read".

Morgan glanced over at the desk "Can I have a look at Ilse Langnar's notebook?"

Hange nodded slowly and Morgan took it off of the desk to read. It was dangerous to leave such unchecked creative people alone together, one of them being a high functioning genius. They could probably create a bomb out of paper, candle wax and toothpaste.

"I wish there was more to this" Morgan said and turned the frail page.

"She died getting that much, we couldn't ask for more" Hange said, her hyperactive energy levels were dangerously low.

"Do you want me to blow up the door?" Morgan asked, they were at their limit of boredom.

"You don't have your armor though?"

"I keep my blasting caps in the pouch on my belt even when I'm not in armor" Morgan explained and turned another page.

"We're gonna die in here" Hange whined and put her feet up.

[#]

 **Dinner time**

"Wilhelm?" Quinn asked and tugged his sleeve. Wilhelm looked to his left, they were sitting in the officer's mess hall while eating dinner with Petra, Gunther and another soldier.

"Yeah?" Wilhelm replied then took another mouthful of food.

"Why do Hange and Morgan always seem to be together?" Quinn asked sadly.

"Because they enjoy each other's company" Wilhelm answered then took a sip of water "Hange has no friends that share the same interests as her except him".

"But they're always together, do you think that..."

"I know what you're getting at and no, they do not love each other, in fact it's more of a soulmate relationship, although initially it was different" Wilhelm explained.

"They told you that?" Quinn asked with a glint of hope.

"No, but I can tell that that's what it is".

Quinn looked at her food and prodded it "Did they ever... you know..."

"I'll leave that to your imagination" Wilhelm chuckled and got up from the table for seconds.

"They kissed?" Quinn asked with a hint of annoyance as Wilhelm walked away.

"I thought you meant the other thing".

"Oh god" Quinn gasped.

"Oops" Wilhelm exclaimed but carried on chuckling as he walked towards the kitchen.

 **This bonus chapter is not meant to be taken seriously, but I hope you enjoyed it.**


	15. Attack on Adventure

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 15.**

Sorry it's late but I have four stories, a light novel, drawing, work and life in general to do/write/live. You did get a bonus chapter last week to make up for it though as I knew it would happen.

* * *

"Attention!" Commander Erwin Smith bellowed from in front of the convoy of troops before the gate of Karanese "This shall be the 57th expedition beyond the walls, today we shall succeed in laying down he foundations for retaking Wall Maria!"

The loyal soldiers around him cheered at their commander's powerful and inspiring words. Quinn, Morgan and Wilhelm were in a squad alongside Cecilia Mathias, the soldier that served with them to capture Florence Bellerose, she had been called in from the Wall Garrison to assist them. Four other soldiers made up the rest of the squad and their job was to protect the left side of the convoy when they were in titan territory, Hange was in another squad with her titan capture gear and Levi was personally babysitting Eren Jaeger, their secret weapon on this mission.

"Onward!" Erwin bellowed and the convoy galloped forward as the gate of Karanese was raised.

Morgan's squad broke away to the left front and put good distance between them and the main body of the convoy, the middle left guard and the rear left guard were behind them but far enough away to be out of view.

"Ok, if you spot a titan let me deal with it unless we reach more suitable terrain" Morgan announced as he galloped in front.

"Got it" Cecilia replied and moved to the right beside Wilhelm.

"We're travelling to Shiganshina then?" Quinn asked.

"Correct, or at least trying to get to Shiganshina".

"How come Hange has all that titan capture gear ready?"

Wilhelm glanced at Morgan to hear his response "I can't tell you that".

"What, why not?"

"Drop it" Wilhelm cut in and a slight furrow of irritation appeared on Quinn's face.

"Fine".

They continued to ride forward for the next half an hour, a messenger rode up and spoke to Morgan in a hushed tone, after he left they spied their first titan "I've got this" Cecilia said and shot up a red flare to signal the formation to move around it and any titans nearby.

"Lieutenant, warning signals, something's happened to the right of the formation!" One of the soldiers shouted.

"Noted, remain in formation, they can deal with it. We need to ensure that no titans breach the left side" Morgan replied "The forest of giant trees is dead ahead" he said and held his arm out to the left to signal his squad to go around it, some of the other convoy soldiers would brave it and go in.

"Lieutenant, titan 15m class approaching from the front left!" Cecilia said and pointed.

"We can't go around it nor signal the formation to move either as they are going into the forest, we'll kill it instead" Morgan replied then rode ahead and drew his hammer.

"Morgan, a storm appears to be on its way" Wilhelm said "And it's red".

Morgan looked up at the far off clouds in the distance to the left of them "Perfect, a thunder storm in the middle of an expedition. Alright the titan's close, prepare to attack!"

The squad galloped alongside the left boundary of the forest of giant trees. Morgan rode ahead and through the legs of the titan then blew its left ankle to bits with his explosive hammer and it staggered forward just as Wilhelm shot his cables into one of the trees beside them and swung in for the strike to the nape. The giant was felled and the squad rode around its collapsing body.

"Good work" Wilhelm said and got back on his horse.

"Morgan, the storm's getting closer and it's fast!" Quinn announced.

"We ride through it, we have to keep this side clear of..." Morgan was cut off as a titan reached out of the forest beside them and snatched Cecilia from her horse.

"Damn it! It was hiding in the trees" Wilhelm cursed and looked over his shoulder.

"Leave it, it's too far away from the center to be a threat".

"But it just killed one of our soldiers!"

"No it bloody didn't!" Cecilia flew back on her 3DMG covered in steaming titan blood, she had sliced the titan to bits and landed beside her horse and the squad slowed down to a trot.

"Are you alright?" Morgan asked and trotted up to her.

"I've been through far worse, just don't leave me for dead alright?"

"Sorry, but I couldn't risk venturing into the forest without a clear path or we might have lost more soldiers, who knows how many titans are lurking between the trees".

"But the central formation is riding through?" Quinn said.

"There's a clear path running through, we passed through it when we captured Florence, remember?" Morgan said and checked Cecilia for injuries then nodded to Wilhelm and the squad advanced again around the forest.

Wilhelm rode up to Morgan, "What was the message about?"

"It was from Hange, some kind of female titan shifter has attacked the central formation".

"Crap, anything else?"

"Hange's going to capture it, if they fail then Levi will deal with it".

"Formation, STOP!" Wilhelm bellowed before he could continue their conversation as he spied something in the distance, he then rode in front of everyone before they gathered momentum, as second in command he could also control the squad alongside Morgan.

"What do you see?" Morgan asked and opened his visor.

"There's something in those storm clouds, they're too low down and the bloody fact they're red seals the deal!" Wilhelm explained over the rolling thunder, they were perhaps ten kilometers away from the rest of the formation now as they had to go around the forest.

"You think it's her?"

"No I think it's _It"_ he said while referring to the wisp that had escaped Florence's torture and eventual death.

"But it's lost its body, nor could the Crimson Steam Titan generate such a storm" Quinn said.

"Then it's up-scaled its operation" Just as Morgan concluded the ground began to shudder and shake, like giant footsteps upon the earth.

"We should investigate the storm!" Wilhelm suggested and trotted around.

"I agree, alright all men, advance!" Morgan commanded and drew his hammer then closed his visor.

The squad of eight rode towards the crimson storm before them and as they drew closer they were able to make out individual shapes.

"Bloody hell" Wilhelm whispered "I've never seen anything like it".

"What is it?" Cecilia asked nervously but steeled her will.

"It's a colossal class titan, perhaps as tall as the wall itself" Morgan said in admiration.

"But it's generating a storm just like Florence could, and this one comes with thunder to boot!" Quinn exclaimed.

"Perhaps the Crimson Steam Titan was too small to create thunder as well" Wilhelm interjected.

"W-what do we do? It's massive!" A soldier whimpered and her horse whinnied.

Morgan observed the titan of titans, or at least its silhouette within the clouds of blood and took out his notebook "I call it the Crimson Storm Titan, Hange's gonna love this one".

"No time for research, we need a plan of action" Wilhelm said.

"It's heading towards Trost!"

"No, look it just changed course, I think it's seen us, it's heading to Karanese now!" Morgan exclaimed then whipped the reigns of his horse and his squad followed close behind "I bet it didn't count on us finding it first".

"At this distance both Trost and Karanese are equally close together, I don't think it cares which city it strikes first but since Trost has been weakened recently it wanted the easiest route" Cecilia calculated.

"Then we kill it before it reaches Karanese" Morgan concluded as they closed in, they were still about a kilometer away from it on the flat grassy plain.

"How exactly are we gonna do that? We'll need canons to take it down, especially since it's weak spot can't be reached with all that blood vapor around it" Wilhelm explained and rode beside Morgan.

"You're right, I can't use my hammer at that distance either, it's traveling just slower than a horse's average speed so it'll reach Karanese in three days time. We use this time to inspect it for weaknesses and ways to defeat it".

"Why don't we send a messenger for Hange?"

"No human alive can kill that thing, not without canons. Hange won't be able to come up with anything".

"How do you know?"

"Because if I can't conceptualize a way of defeating it then Hange won't be able to make a plan based on that concept, it's a method we invented where I think of ideas and Hange works out a way to make it happen, then we both make the concept a manifestation".

"That sounds pretty efficient" Wilhelm commented.

"It is, the Titan Noose idea was mine, Hange was the one to draw the plan out and create the mechanisms to make everything work".

"So you're just the ideas man?"

"Yes".

"And she's the brains".

"Yes".

"I thought you were like equals or something".

"Ha! No, she's way smarter than me" Morgan scoffed and looked around the feet of the Crimson Storm Titan "Hold up, there's something around its feet!"

"Titans, hundreds of them!" Wilhelm pointed out "They're using the Crimson Storm Titan for cover and to hide their advance".

"That gives me an idea" Morgan said hopefully "It tells us that Titans can resist the enormous heat that it gives off, probably because they're hot themselves".

"So, what does that mean?" Quinn asked.

"It means that you're gonna have to be the one to kill it" Cecilia added. Everyone turned to Quinn.

"She's right you know" Wilhelm said, the other teammates looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"Oh".

"What?"

Morgan rode close to Wilhelm and leaned in "The others don't know about Quinn yet".

Wilhelm thought for a moment "They know about Jaeger, I'm sure they can handle another".

Morgan rode away and spoke up "Alright, when the time comes our secret weapon shall be revealed but it shall be a last resort if we can't stop this titan before then. Quinn Mason is a titan shifter and she will use her power to defeat the titans".

The other soldiers exchanged cautious looks "What? I-I can't trust a titan" One said.

"Yeah, who's to say she won't turn on us? She's a titan anyway".

"No, I'm a human" Quinn said irritably.

"So is Jaeger but you saw what he did" The soldier retorted.

"He saved Trost!"

"If you have a problem with one of my soldiers then I will discharge you from duty and you can join the rear squads like a coward" Morgan snapped.

"Tsk, fine but we'll kill her if she pulls anything".

"Agreed" Wilhelm said, Quinn gave him a dirty look.

"What?"

"The trust of our soldiers if worth more than the life of just one, without it we can not function as a military unit" Wilhelm explained.

"I- I suppose".

"But don't worry, you know that won't happen".

Quinn nodded then looked ahead at the approaching storm and the army of titans beneath it, "Titan, 10m class breaking away from the main group!"

"I've got it!" Wilhelm said and rode ahead.

"We circle this storm and probe it for weaknesses and study it, everyone keep your eyes open for anything that can be of use, then we break away and return to the main formation" Morgan explained and sped up. Wilhelm dispatched the titan in one strike and almost cut its head off at the same time as the strike was so strong. The rest of the squad rode around the storm, putting a few hundred meters between them and the clouds of blood vapor.

"Lieutenant!" The soldier who was paranoid of Quinn spoke up.

"Yes?"

"There's something that you aren't telling us!"

"There's always something I haven't told you, but if I haven't it's because you aren't required to know it" Morgan replied.

"You know what that thing is?"

"Of course I do".

"Then share it with us, not just your friends!"

Morgan slowed down and kept pace with the young hot headed soldier "There's nothing that you could know that would help us, therefore you are not required to know".

"Who the hell are you anyway? You turned up two weeks ago and have command over your own squad, what's a garrison soldier doing here in the first place?"

"I come and go as I please, I helped out the Survey Corps five years ago during the fall of Wall Maria. Erwin asks me to assist him every once in a while when I'm not needed in the Wall Garrison, does that answer your question?"

"Five years? You're bloody 18 years old".

Morgan lifted his helmet's visor and turned to the soldier "I'm 22, you c**t".

The soldier went white as a sheet then looked directly ahead, Morgan closed his visor and rode to the front again. Wilhelm rode back to talk to the soldier, "I know you don't trust him but I do and you know who I am, we're both in the top one hundred soldiers so trust us, we know what we're doing, alright?"

The soldier nodded "He doesn't swear often by the way so you know you've pissed him off if he does", Wilhelm added.

Wilhelm returned to the front beside Morgan, "Bloody recruits".

"I know".

"He's right though, you look 18".

"I know that, but then Levi looks 20 yet he's 34".

"Point taken".

They rode around the entire storm and probed it for weaknesses but found none, the cloud of steam was too hot, the lightning was too strong and the army of titans beneath it was too dangerous full stop.

"Found anything?" Wilhelm asked as they got dangerously close to the storm, the colossus titan in the center turned its head and its luminous eyes stared at them for it recognized a few of the soldiers, particularly the man in metal. It changed direction and stepped towards them.

"No, but it looks like it's on an attack course!" Quinn yelled back and put her hand on a sword in preparation.

"Wait, what's it doing?"

The Crimson Storm Titan reached down and picked up one of the larger titans beneath it then hurled it at the squad, "Oh shit, evasive maneuvers!" Wilhelm roared before Morgan could give the same order, so long as one of them did it was fine, they almost always gave the same orders or knew what the other was going to do so they never conflicted on that front so the squad could essentially have two leaders.

The titan crashed into their squad and smashed a man and his horse to bits, Wilhelm leaped up off his horse and sliced an arm off to stop it from crushing the men behind him, Morgan almost got hit by a leg but struck it with his hammer in time and ran through the bisected limb.

"Oh my god" Quinn gasped as another smaller titan crashed into the squad, the soldiers ran around it and fortunately no one was hit, "It's using titans as ammunition!"

The small fodder titan stood up and reached out to swipe a man off his horse but Cecilia hacked its head off on the run by.

"Keep the wagon alive!" Morgan ordered as a squad of titans broke away to chase them, they began to speed up until they thumped along the ground in full on sprint.

"Morgan, now's a good time to break out the new weapons we brought" Wilhelm said as he dodged another flying titan.

"New weapons?" Quinn's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Hange and I devised them" Morgan replied and nodded to Wilhelm.

"Let me guess, your idea and Hange drew the plans?"

"Yes".

"Alright everyone ride close to the wagon, remove the tarp and grab a lance!" Wilhelm ordered and everyone including Morgan took a long spear like weapon from the wagon as they galloped around the titans, "We're gonna need to turn back the other way or that river will stop us on the other side of the storm and that titan mob will block our return route".

The squad stopped and the Crimson Storm Titan looked over its shoulder at what they were doing, "Alright, everyone form up, dump the wagon, we have no use for it now!" Morgan ordered and the squad of seven lined up to face the approaching titans that had left the storm and caught them between the forest of giant trees, blood storm and a river.

"What are these?" A soldier asked as he looked up at the tip.

"Blast lances, spears tipped with explosives, they're one use only and are in the prototype stage. They work in a similar way to my hammer except they have a longer range, are used like you're jousting and break after use".

"One use, what good is that gonna do us?"

"The explosive is far more potent than the ones I use for my hammer and so they shatter the end of the lance on impact. We are going to charge that mob of titans and blow their legs off and make our escape".

"That's a good idea, thank god you decided to unveil the cliché secret weapon" Quinn remarked.

"Well they needed field testing so why not now? That's why I brought them".

"Any more new weapons by professors Hange and St Clare?"

"Sure, explosive javelins".

"We have those too?"

"Yes" Morgan replied and took a short spear from the wagon, "Grab as many as you can and keep them attached to your saddle in case we need more firepower".

The soldiers took a few javelins each and returned to the line, "We never learned how to throw javelins in the trainee corps" the paranoid soldier spoke up, he had regained is confidence.

"Well then if you fuck up, you'll be the first to die" Cecilia berated him, "You throw it with the explosive towards the enemy by the way, just thought you might need to know that".

The soldier glared at Cecilia then turned back to face the approaching titans, the Crimson Storm Titan had lost interest and continued on its way to Karanese district.

"CHARGE!" The seven soldiers galloped away towards the titans with their lances raised, "Couch lance!" Morgan ordered.

"What's that?" Quinn asked.

"Just lower it, hold the end of it under your arm and point it at the titan's legs" Wilhelm explained.

"Ok got it" Quinn replied and did as she was instructed.

"BRACE!" The line of lances pierced the formation of titans as each soldier directed their explosive spear at the closest titans legs. Each lance hit and blew the lower legs of the bigger ones to bits, Cecilia hit a small one in the chest and it erupted in flame and spewed blood and guts everywhere, "Ew, ew, ew it got in my mouth!" Cecilia spat and wiped blood from her face.

The squad passed through the titans unscathed, Quinn looked over her shoulder to see seven of the ten titans either dead or incapacitated, "Alright, drop your lance and run like hell!" Morgan ordered and whipped the reigns of his horse. The lances worked perfectly and allowed them to run straight into the titans and escape but they were useless now the explosive was spent.

"We're in the clear!" Wilhelm announced, "No more hostiles".

The squad rode away from the storm and back against the forest, they then headed towards the center of the now dissolved formation since they had ventured into the woods and so did not need a left side vanguard.

"That was more fun than I had expected" Quinn said.

"Good, did we learn much about the Crimson Storm Titan though?" Wilhelm asked.

"I don't think trapping it with cables is going to work, but it might be a way to stun it by redirecting its own lightning into it. I still think cannons are the only way" Morgan explained.

"Then we'll need to lead it to the walls?"

"No, we return to Karanese and wait for it there while building up our defenses, we'll need to return to the Wall Garrison, you, me, Quinn and Cecilia".

"What about us?" The paranoid soldier asked.

"Go do what a Survey Corps recruit does".

* * *

New chapters will no longer have a set interval of three days as I've started too many stories to keep a consistent schedule, however Twin Crimson Rose will remain my main fanfiction work, although my light novel will take priority.


	16. Attack on Tragedy

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 16**

"I see them, the main convoy!" Quinn announced as they rode away from the forest of giant trees.

"What happened to them? And why are there aberrants chasing them?" Wilhelm asked and whipped the reigns of his horse to go faster.

"Should we engage?"

"No, keep our distance!" Morgan ordered.

"Look, two soldiers coming from the woods!"

Morgan looked over his shoulder, "What the hell are they doing?"

"They've got a body with them!" Wilhelm replied.

The squad of seven approached 300m from the right flank of the retreating formation.

"Wilhelm, take over I just spotted something, I'll be right back!" Morgan said then broke away.

"Got it!" Wilhelm replied then led the squad towards the rest of the Survey Corps as Morgan slowed down to check something. The squads and the titan assailants disappeared into the distance towards the walls and left Morgan alone on the great grassy plane, which may have been foolish or just exceptionally brave. Morgan got off his horse and jogged up to what appeared to be a shrouded corpse on the ground.

"Didn't they take the fallen with them, what's this soldier doing..." Morgan lifted the veil and saw orange hair that shone in the sun and he recalled suddenly and staggered back with his armor clunking with every step, "Petra..."

Morgan removed his helmet and held it under his arm then knelt down, "Petra, what... what happened to you?" He whispered and parted some blood soaked hair from her empty eyes, "Levi's going to be..." He stood up again then turned to his horse and took out some rope from the saddle pouch and prepared to retrieve Petra's body to take back to the Survey Corps for proper burial.

Thumping footsteps shook the ground beneath him and Morgan turned around to see a titan approach him slowly with a grin on its face, "Damnit" he cursed then drew his hammer but turned again to see more from the direction of the forest, "Damnit, why did they just dump her body here to distract me?"

"Morgan!" Wilhelm roared as he charged towards him on horseback, he had left Quinn in charge of the squad and came solo.

"Stay back, it's too dangerous!" Morgan replied and held up his hand.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Morgan turned back to the approaching titans, "It's Petra, her body's been left here, it distracted me but don't come any closer!" He put his helmet back on and closed the visor, "It's my fault".

"Like hell I am!" Wilhelm retorted and rode up then drew his swords.

"Go, there's too many!" Morgan snapped back as the titans came within twenty meters of them.

"Get on your horse then!"

"It's too late, it takes a knight in armor far too long to mount a horse, leave me!"

"You're not a fucking knight, now get..." Wilhelm was interrupted as a titan reached down to grab him, he responded by hacking its hand off with a clean swing.

Morgan ran up and obliterated its shin with a swing of his hammer and it collapsed in front of them, he then finished it with another explosive to the nape as it lay face first on the ground. "I carry a collapsible footstool on my saddle to help me mount my horse 'cause I'm so heavy".

"Don't make excuses, now come on!"

Morgan hesitated but nodded and turned back to his horse to see a large titan pick it up then splatter it into the ground, "Damnit!" He cursed and attached another blasting cap to his hammer, "It's an aberrant!"

Wilhelm shot towards it on his 3DMG and hacked into its neck to kill it, the dull giant fell to the side just as three more plodded up to take its place.

"Go now while you still have a chance, I'm too slow!"

"But..."

"It was my choice to use this armor and I'll be the one to die in it, NOW GO!"

Wilhelm turned to mount his horse but snapped his head up to face a 15m class titan with a toothy smile on its face staring down on him, Morgan reached out, Wilhelm pulled the triggers on his swords but it was too late, the titan's fist crashed down like a sundering meteor into the earth.

"NO!" Morgan roared just as a 3m class titan grabbed his arm from behind, "NO, I'M NOT DONE YET!"

The titan lifted its fist from the earth and picked up Wilhelm's crushed body then held it up to its mouth, Morgan watched in horror as it clamped down and consumed him. His eyes widened; he hacked into the face of the 3m titan that was chewing on his arm and it released him, he then spun and the hammer head connected with the collar bone and obliterated it. He secured another blasting cap just as another small titan yanked his cape back and dragged him away from the 15m titan.

"Wilhelm!" He gasped as he tried to keep his footing but the titan was too strong and pulled him off his feet then knelt on top of him, "Aaargh!" The titan leaned in close and drooled on him, a moment of relative peace was interrupted as Morgan raised his left hand and shot his grappling cable into the giant's retina and it recalled in pain and stumbled back, he then leaped back on a burst of gas and tore the eye out of the titan's skull using his momentum. It howled and he landed again then charged forward and rammed it with his shoulder that knocked its legs out from under it, Morgan finished his enemy by blitzing its upper half with a gunpowder charge.

Morgan staggered back and reloaded his hammer and panted, the 15m class titan that had killed Wilhelm was staring down on him and drooled, more small titans approached from all sides, "COME ON THEN, I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!" Morgan roared in utter fury and charged the massive creature, he took out his crossbow and shot a bolt into the middle of its torso then replaced it to his back. He leaped up on a burst of gas and hacked the spiked end of his hammer into its thigh and hauled himself up, he then fired his grappling cable into the shoulder then climbed up higher and perched on the crossbow bolt he had fired to use as a ledge to stand on. The titan recalled and tried to shake him off but its hand was met with the hammer and it was blitzed in a shower of blood and bone.

Morgan took out another crossbow bolt and jammed it into the upper torso and climbed it alongside using the spike of his hammer like an ice axe. He reached the shoulder then swung into the side of its head with a fresh explosive and emptied its skull of its contents in a gory explosion. He then fired his cable into the remnant of its shoulder as it fell forward and he held on tight to keep himself from falling off. It crashed forward on top of another titan then he finished it with a final explosive.

Another 3m class titan thumped towards him as it began to rain, "Huh, maybe that storm titan's messed with the weather as well" Morgan said wirily as rain drops tapped against his armor. He looked up then opened his visor to feel the cold rain run down his face, he then looked directly at the titan with a menacing look on his face, the titan stopped and observed him then continued towards him, "Not today". A swing of his hammer and he obliterated the small titan, another blasting cap and another titan dead and another and another.

Morgan had gone berserk against his titan assailants.

They swarmed him; Morgan picked up a fallen explosive javelin from the ground and lobbed it into the closest one's neck and decapitated it with a direct blast. "TRY HARDER!" He roared, "C'MON KILL ME!" The titans dropped one after another as they came, a larger one plodded up but Morgan left no time to hesitate, he fired his grappling cable into its right leg then ran around it in circles as it tried to grab him. The steel cable pulled taught and tied around its legs but ripped the spool of wire out of the device on his wrist and took off his vambrace along with it, metal plates and bolts clattered away and Morgan leaped up on top of the tripped titan and smashed its nape to bits with a blast from his hammer. A small titan reached up and grabbed his leg then threw him into the mud, the rain got heavier and Morgan scrambled up just as it bit down on his unprotected arm and tore it off at the wrist.

Blood spurted out and he screamed, "FUCK!" Morgan gasped and held his arm then the titan swallowed his hand, "AAARGH!"

The titan turned to him but got his war hammer in the face, and it was blown to bits. Morgan reached to his belt pouch but stopped, "N-no, my hand..." his hand was gone so he couldn't take another blasting cap to replace the one that he had spent. His blood continued to run but he took his hammer and splattered the fallen titans nape over and over to kill it.

Morgan stumbled back into the jaws of a 6m class titan that had been waiting behind him and it clamped around his body and dented his armor. One of its teeth tore into his belt pouch and ruptured the casing and detonator of a blasting cap and it exploded at point blank range; it blew up the titan's jaws and sent Morgan stumbling forward and face first into the mud, the close explosion ripped sheets of metal and mechanisms from his back armor. He coughed and spluttered and held his side as a piece of his own armor had become lodged in his waist and drawn blood.

"I-I can't lose yet..." he gasped.

A 15m class titan plodded up to him and stopped then knelt down to him and observed the metal man then ripped the cape from his back, Morgan staggered up and detached his hammer from his shattered armor as the gas canisters on his back were ruptured as well. He took his crossbow off his back but found that it had been snapped in half by the titan's bite, he discarded it and steeled his will then held his hammer up above his head with his remaining hand, "FOR WILHELM, AND ALL OF HUMANITY!" He declared then charged the behemoth in one final desperate attempt.

[#]

The titan before him was shunted off to the right as another rammed it with its shoulder and knocked it into a tree. The newcomer stomped up to it as it tried to get up but stuck its long and delicate fingers into its collarbone and melted it from the inside out. It then turned and booted a 3m class titan into the distance before picking another one up and tearing it in half and melting down the remains with its purplish acid. It then turned to Morgan and its eyes shone through the heavy rain before charging the remaining titans.

Morgan dropped to his knees and opened his visor, "Quinn..." he fell forward and into unconsciousness as the rain poured down.

[#]

Morgan opened his eyes suddenly and glanced around the room, a shadow was cast over him and Quinn looked down from above, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"W-where are we?" Morgan asked hoarsely.

"The Survey Corps HQ, everyone else has gone to Stohess so there's only a few of us left here".

Morgan raised his left arm but found it wrapped in bandages, "How long have I been out?"

"You've drifted in and out of consciousness of about a week now, that female titan that attacked the formation, she was a human called Annie Leonheart, a soldier in the MP".

"N-never heard of her".

"Well, she's been captured but the damage to Stohess is massive".

"What about the Crimson Storm Titan?" Morgan asked and tried to sit upright.

"It never arrived, we set up defenses and a hell of a lot of cannons but it never appeared, we think it's decided against attacking a fortified city, probably because we found it first".

"It'll come, at some point or another" Morgan let out a harsh breath then closed his eyes.

Quinn fell silent, "I-I'm sorry about Wilhelm".

Morgan opened his eyes again at the sudden realization then turned away from Quinn.

"We're all devastated, Morgan. I know you've been through it once with me, but..."

"I'll succeed this time".

"What?"

"I won't fail, I'll commit myself to destroying the titans from now on".

Quinn smiled, "Hange left you something in the steelworks by the way, it was delivered the other day".

Morgan threw off the covers and stood up, "Whoa don't get up already, you need your..."

"If what you said is true and I've been asleep for a week then there's no need to rest, a missing hand isn't going to stop me", Morgan put on the slippers next to the bed and checked his side, the metal shrapnel had been removed. He was still sore and covered in small cuts but apart from his hand, he was fine.

"Hey, at least eat breakfast first" Quinn protested.

"No, I have a feeling I know what Hange left for me".

[#]

Morgan opened the door to the steelworks one handed and walked over to the shutters and threw them open to let the light flood in, Quinn followed him.

"Whoa" Quinn gasped.

Wooden crates were stacked high to the ceiling along with new tools and the schematics for an intricate device was pinned to the ideas board where Hange and Morgan would normally brainstorm.

"Steel plate, magnesium, chromium, tungsten, carbide, brass, steel wire, a new anvil, felt, leather, wool, glass, 3DMG turbines and canisters and a ton of other stuff" Morgan read through the labels of each of the crates, "And the best part: pure nitroglycerin".

"Wow, it's so... technical".

"Thank you Hange" Morgan whispered.

"Well she paid for it with your money".

"Oh".

"Nah, my dad bought it for you".

"You went to see him?!"

"Yes, when the Survey Corps first arrived in Stohess, he was overjoyed and Hange and I told him about what you had done for me, so she gave him the list and he appropriated the best materials for you, from the capital city no less".

"I didn't thank you for saving my life, Quinn" Morgan smiled at her, "Thank you, thank you and more".

"It's alright, I..."

"Oh, there you guys are, morning Morgan" Cecilia said from the door frame.

"Hey Cecilia" Morgan replied and tried to wave with is left hand but realized it was no longer there.

"Whatcha doing?" Cecilia asked.

"We're about to do some serious tinkering" Morgan replied and gestured to the crated materials.

"We?"

"All three of us, I only have one hand now so I need your help, we're going to build the HTSA MK2 and that" Morgan pointed to the schematics on the board, "A mechanical prosthetic hand that's powered by gas".

"H-how does it work?" Quinn inspected the plans but they were intellectually beyond her.

"From what I can tell, Hange has designed a wire tendon mechanism that's connected via a pipe to the armor's gas canisters and a 3DMG turbine which reels in the cables to close the hand, I can then pull the to-be-made third trigger on my hammer to release it again".

"Your armor is fucked by the way" Cecilia pointed to an armor stand in the corner with Morgan's old and ruined HTSA.

"Well, it looks like we're starting from the ground up then, with three of us it shouldn't take too long".

"Hmm, so your right hand is going to control your fake left hand?" Cecilia asked while also looking at the plans.

"Correct, it won't be as good as a real hand but it's the next best thing, plus I can beat people to death with it if need be since it's metal".

"Charming".

"You seem overly excited and happy for someone who's just lost his best friend and left hand" Quinn said.

Morgan's expression faded then he turned away to the crates of materials, "Go- go get breakfast, I'll unpack these crates".

"Are you sure, you've only got one hand?"

"No, I-I want some time alone first".

* * *

Hi Hillie, the link you sent me can't be shown unless it's spaced out, is funny about links and won't show them.


	17. Twin Crimson Rose: Series Two

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 17**

"Morgan? Morgan it's 2am you need to go to sleep", Quinn put her hand on his shoulder.

Morgan was silent.

"I'll carry you if you don't leave".

Morgan picked up the hammer to his right and hammered the metal rivets in place while ignoring Quinn. Cecilia grabbed his shoulder then slapped him across the face, "Don't you dare think that it's your fault that Wilhelm died! Whoever left our fellow soldiers behind is to blame, not you. You only did what any of us would have done, I don't care what the higher ups think, we leave no man behind even if they're dead!"

Morgan rubbed his cheek then went back to tinkering, "For god's sake, yesterday you were full of energy and wanted to get back into the thick of it, but now you've regressed into an obsessive… something-or-other. This isn't healthy, Wilhelm wouldn't want you to do this", Cecilia continued.

"Wilhelm's dead".

"Yes and he…"

"It's my fault, he tried to assist me and I told him to run, but he wouldn't leave me behind".

"Because that's we do, like I said we don't even leave our dead behind, Wilhelm thought the same and he proved it in his final moments", Cecilia began to tear up and Quinn hugged her.

Morgan put the hammer down, "two more hours, that's all I want", he said in monotone, his obsessive ethic to his work made him regress to a single minded state of dread and self loathing.

"Not even that, you're coming with me now", Quinn said and grabbed his hand but he wouldn't budge.

"I have work to do, the Survey Corps is coming back from Stohess soon and I need to be ready for the Crimson Storm Titan's arrival".

Cecilia reached for Morgan but he slapped her hand away, "CAN'T YOU SEE I NEED THIS? I'M MISSING A FUCKING ARM!" He roared but then instantly regretted it, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that".

Cecilia sighed, "Alright, one hour then you're going to bed, alright?"

Morgan turned back to the work bench and rested his forehead against the wood and didn't answer. Cecilia and Quinn left the metal works and walked towards the castle, "Do you think he'll be alright?" Cecilia asked.

"I don't know, he's lost his arm and his best friend, he's preoccupied with the threat of the Storm Titan since it never arrived and he's got his armor to build and a prosthetic arm, all that and he only has one hand to do it with".

"We helped him all day, he can't ask for more".

"Make way for the Survey Corps!" A man declared as a convoy trotted into the castle courtyard under the light of the moon and their torches.

Quinn and Cecilia jogged over to them to greet their comrades, Hange jumped off of her horse to meet them, "How's he holding up?"

Cecilia sighed again, "I dunno, he's got obsessed with his work and he blames himself for Wilhelm's death".

Hange readjusted her glasses as a stable worker took her horse, she glanced at Levi then nodded to him, he rolled his eyes then stalked off to the metal works.

[#]

"A bit late for playing with your toys, tin man?" Levi said as he walked in.

Morgan turned to face him then held up his left arm, it was bandaged about three inches from his elbow, most of his lower arm had been sheared off by the titans, "And you're out 'cause you twisted your ankle?"

"I won't act like I'm insensitive, but nor will I spare your feelings. I was the one who ordered for their bodies to be dumped, even Petra's".

Morgan's eyes twitched at the sound. E _ven Petra?_

"Yeah, shock horror, welcome to the shit hole we live in, Morgan, it's about to get worse".

Morgan held up his arm again then pointed to his destroyed armor on the stand in the corner, "This is what your mistake cost me, you gave me no warning that you were going to do what you did".

"I preserved the lives of many more by doing just that, Wilhelm may have been equal to a hundred men, but I'd choose two of the worst in the unit over him. When you've seen what I've seen and lived where I've lived, you learn that everyone is equal and respected, it might not seem like it up here but down there you'll learn it real fast, no bullshit just good old fashioned respect. Wilhelm had it, and he died with it. But so does every soldier who serves under me, and so I do not cry for his death or your mutilation for I saved thirty score your loss".

Morgan stared into Levi's dead man's eyes and his top lip turned into a snarl, "Don't act like I'm wrong, Morgan".

"I still had no warning, I couldn't have known".

"No shit, I'm not magic nor do we have smoke flares for _'dumping our comrades bodies'_ ".

"What ever happened to respect?"

Levi cocked his head, "Say that again?"

"You said it like it was a joke, you've seen it all before yet you made light of our comrades' deaths".

"Don't you ever-".

"Fucking rumbled, Levi. Take your bullshit respect and learn it for yourself, then when you're done you can teach it to all the people you've wronged and see if it still means the same to you as it does right now. You've become blind to reality but you think you're in tune, every thing's the same to you these days, one death after another and you turn a blind eye to it".

Levi's eyes flared at the sound of Morgan's word, "Why are you even here, Levi?"

"You think you're some kind of special little flower? Like you lost your arm and your best friend and now you have the nerve to talk bullshit to me?"

Morgan stood up and adjusted his bionic arm, the gas cylinders were not yet attached via pipe lines so it was inactive. "You lost two strangers and it turned you into the _spirit of dread_. I lost the love of my life, my arm and my best friend, and it made me greater. You may be humanities strongest soldier…" Morgan limped up and winced in pain, "but make no mistake, you bleed just like me".

Levi narrowed his eyes and stood up straighter, "is that a threat?"

"No, but just for future reference; I can bleed a lot more than you can. From now on you'll learn some respect, leave no man behind, even the dead".

Levi bared his teeth, "Listen you little shit, you don't know what goes through my mind so how could you…"

"I've suffered just the same as you have, but even I can keep smiling, that's what makes me the greater man, you let it get to you and it proves that for all your strength you're truly weak. Now go, take your dead man's glare, your 'respect' and piss off".

Levi opened his mouth with a furious retort, "Oh and one more thing, I talk about leaving no man behind, but when you die, and you will, I'll be there, and I'll bury you where you fell _myself_ ".

Levi reached for Morgan, "LEVI, stand down!" Erwin bellowed from the doorway, "It's time you leave, you two are like oil and water".

Levi looked back at his enclosed fist, frozen on a collision course with Morgan's face but Morgan held a red hot fire poker to the side of Levi's head, "I'll melt the eyes from your _skull_ and we can call it even, right? An arm for an arm as they say", Morgan said menacingly.

Levi spat and shied away from the red hot steel, "we're not fucking done here".

"I am", Morgan replied then set the hot poker back in the forge.

"I'll be back".

"And I'll return you in a _coffin_ ".

[#]

 **The next day** **.**

"Fuck that guy!" Levi swore loudly as he barged into the officer's lounge then leveled eyes with Morgan at the corner table.

"Sorry Levi, I'm not gay but I heard Armin is into that stuff".

Levi was fuming, his temper had not settled since the previous night. Hange sat opposite Morgan and she turned on her seat to see what was the matter. Morgan returned to his coffee and ignored the raging Levi, "don't you fucking ignore me!"

Hange leaned into Morgan, "You really blame Levi for Wilhelm's death and the loss of your arm?"

"To a degree".

Erwin put his hand on Levi's shoulder then shook his head, the Corporal threw it off then stormed out again.

"How's your armor coming along?"

"I'll need some help if I'm to get it done in time".

"Before what?"

"The Crimson Storm Titan arrives".

"Well I have some good news, I know where it came from", Hange said and sipped her coffee.

"You do?"

"Yeah, remember that weird wisp like thing, like a ghost?"

Morgan nodded.

"Well, you won't believe me but… the walls aren't man made, they're constructed from the ossified remains of 50m class colossal titans, I don't know how or why but that's just it. That wisp must have reanimated one of them, most probably from one of the outer walls to the far south east".

"You mean it got into the walls and awakened one of them then made it like Florence?"

"Exactly, the wall will have a massive breach but it doesn't matter since it's in titan held territory".

Morgan thought for a moment, "I'm still not sure how we're going to kill it when it arrives, it could turn up anywhere along the south east wall".

"Then the only choice is to send scouts out to look for it, if we have at least a day's notice we can move cannons to the right point on the walls".

"He will, you won't, Hange to the meeting room", Erwin said as he looked up from the report that a messenger had just delivered.

"What's happened?" Hange asked and stood up.

"There's been a breach in the outer wall, titans have been spotted within wall Rose".

"The Crimson Storm Titan?" Morgan stood up suddenly.

"No, just a few normal ones", Erwin said then left the room, Hange looked back at Morgan then followed after the commander.

[#]

Morgan was back in the metal works as some of the Survey Corps went to respond to the recent titan threat.

"How long did you sleep last night?" Quinn asked as she walked in.

"I didn't", Morgan replied.

"You worked _all_ night?"

"Most of it", Morgan replied and turned on his stool to show Quinn his prosthetic arm, he clicked the gas triggers that were still partially assembled and the fingers closed into a fist.

"Hey that's pretty cool, you're making good progress at least".

"And I'll continue to, so long as Levi leaves me be".

"I'm sure he's got the message".

"Hopefully he won't come back".

"Don't say that, we need him".

"You'd get your shot at becoming humanities' strongest soldier if he dies".

Quinn sat down, "Not if it meant someone's life, no matter who they are or what they've done".

"Well, I just became humanities' 20th strongest soldier now that Wilhelm's gone".

"I'm sure he'd be proud", Quinn smiled, "It's almost lunch, lets go".

Morgan looked back at his work, then sighed, "Alright". He detached the metal arm and got up, "but I'm coming straight back".

"No problem, I'll help you".


	18. Attack on Retaliation

**Attack on Titan: Twin Crimson Rose chapter 18**

Morgan, Quinn and Cecilia walked along the walls of Karanese alongside the Regimental Major of the city, a man that held power just under the Wall Garrison Commander, Dot Pixis.

"So the plan is to lure the Crimson Storm Titan to the weakest point in the wall so that we can take it down from there?"

"Correct, it would never attempt to attack Karanese itself, the city is too strong for it to handle, therefore we lure it to a weaker point in the wall. We can't set up emplacements along the whole eastern side of the wall as it would be impossible nor could we predict exactly where it will attack, so we trick it", Morgan explained. His HTSA MK2 (Horizontal Titan Slaying Armor Mark Two) shone in the early morning sun, it was far shinier than its predecessor.

"But there are no weak points in the wall", the major countered.

"No, so we make one", Cecilia added.

"Exactly, we fake a repair mission where someone accidently triggers explosives thus damaging the wall. Not enough to compromise it, but enough to lull the Storm Titan into a false sense of ease. He'll strike where the wall is damaged no matter how little, he needs all the help he can get to take the wall down".

"So we help him?"

"Yes".

"Those wall worshiping nut-jobs won't like this at all".

"We're not going to make this public, we choose a section of the wall a few kilometers from Karanese itself", Quinn said.

"Hmm, we already have reports that further along there's been a break in, the Survey Corps are handling the situation but I'm not convinced we can handle two operations of such importance simultaneously".

"I wouldn't worry about the Survey Corps, they have Jaeger, Levi and Mikasa with them", Cecilia said.

The major thought a while longer then sighed. "Very well, permission granted".

Morgan nodded to Quinn and Cecilia then closed his salet helm's visor. "We need a team to scout out the Storm Titan's current location, then, when we have pinpointed him we can begin setting up the trap at the closest point. Quinn, you'll be with the station guard, we need you to deal the final blow when our cannons weaken him. Cecilia, plan the mock up wall repair mission, remember not to compromise the wall. Major, I need you to brief the entire garrison on our plan, we need everyone available to take him on". Morgan turned then walked to the wall elevator.

"Operation: Titan Firestorm is a go, let's hunt him down".

"Ooh that sent a shiver down my spine", Quinn giggled.

[#]

Morgan rode out of the gates of Karanese, flanked by two other soldiers. His new horse, Areion, named after the forgotten myth from long ago, was clad in as much armor as Morgan himself and had the horn of the unicorn caste in steel upon its head. The Mason family ensured that he would protect Quinn to the best of his ability, now more than ever given the loss of his arm. The two soldiers that travelled with Morgan were perhaps the bravest of the wall garrison in Karanese for none there had actually seen a titan yet alone left the gates.

"Sir, where to?" Kristoff Rog, the lance corporal to Morgan's left asked.

"We go out eight kilometers, then we can see the storm clouds it gives off from perhaps a hundred kilometers away, then we'll know where he is", Morgan replied as Areion thundered across the planes with the two lighter and swifter horses pitter pattering behind it.

"Why eight kilometers sir?" The other soldier, Arthur Vaughn asked.

"Because he's watching the walls, eight kilometers is just beyond the horizon".

"Titan, 4m class dead ahead and two 3m class titans to the east!" The other soldier announced.

"Ignore the three meters, we take out the 4m class when we reach it, it hasn't spotted us yet".

The trio rode fourth and finally caught the small titan's attention, it turned and gurgled at them with its larger than average maw then stomped towards them.

"Sir, plan of action?"

"I can handle it, go either side to distract it".

The two soldiers simultaneously split off and rode either side of the titan to catch its attention while Morgan thundered towards it. The titan looked at Kristoff then reached out but he sliced through its arm with a swift slash. The dumbfounded titan stopped then inspected its steaming stump before Morgan and Areion smashed into it which sent it crashing to the ground. On the flyby, Morgan dropped a gunpowder explosive down its mouth and rode ahead without looking back. Both Arthur and Kristoff glanced over their shoulders to see the titan scramble up, it gave one sickening grin before flame erupted from inside and blew the monster to bits.

"Whoa", Arthur murmured as bits of titan flesh rained to earth.

[#]

Quinn entered the maintenance area for the emplaced wall weapons and looked around. As a mission deputy commander, she had temporary power over all other soldiers but to her surprise, most of them were not happy with an air headed ditz in charge of the heavy weapons.

"So this is a carronade?" Quinn asked her attendant, a Lance Corporal called James.

"Yes, I've said twice now ma'am".

"Sorry, I was distracted by that big-ass one over there".

"The bombard battery?"

"Hell yeah!"

"They fire 1000 pound explosives, one shell could blow the arm off of the Colossal Titan".

"Then why haven't we used them before?" Quinn asked then stroked the 'big-ass gun'.

"Because they're artillery pieces. They are inaccurate and only fire up and out not directly forward so you only ever hit above the target, ma'am".

"Okay, I want three of those and twenty carronades. The rest will be main cannons then".

The assistant recalled slightly, "Do you want a catapult too, ma'am?"

"Oh yeah, five onagers and a trebuchet will do".

[#]

 **One kilometer from Karanese, south side wall.**

Cecilia stood atop the walls alongside the wall repair team. Their equipment was on standby and ready to mobilize the second Morgan came back. Two of the engineers had begun playing chess while another started doodling in a notebook.

"I'm bored", Cecilia huffed.

"We're all bored".

"Yeah but I'm _really_ bored".

"Hey, what's..." Cecelia began but choked on her breath as red steam began to billow from just outside the wall. The soldiers looked down over the walls.

The earth shuddered and shook then a blinding bolt of lightning struck the ground and blasted red hot crimson steam outwards. The soldiers all stumbled and tripped as a fleshy hand loomed over the wall and crushed the wall repair equipment and the soldier beside it.

"Battle positions! Prepare to repel!" Cecelia commanded but her voice cracked. The hand retracted then a moment of silence followed before the Crimson Storm Titan rammed the wall with its shoulder and knocked everyone down again. Cecelia fell over and the soldier behind her fell back and off the wall, his terror was so overpowering that he didn't activate his 3DMG and fell to his death.

A blood-curdling bellow shook the earth and turned the strongest men to tears as the storm titan rammed the wall again. It snarled then grabbed the top of the wall and pulled. Cecilia snapped out of her terror and flew to the side as a great slab of the wall was torn away. She landed away from the breach and glanced to see the face of the storm titan looking right at her. Now that part of the wall had collapsed, it was tall enough to see over as it was equal height to the wall.

 _"BEHOLD THE MIGHT OF THE TITANS! KNOW NOW LITTLE HUMAN THAT WE WILL NEVER BE VANQUISHED. THE RECLAMATION HAS ALREADY BEGUN!"_

"F-Florence?" Cecilia gasped as she caught a hint of the human she once knew within the apocalypse before her.

"You better believe it, bitch!" The Storm Titan stopped moving suddenly. A blast of steam exploded from the nape of the titan and Florence Bellerose charged out with full 3DMG equipment and a red hooded cloak.

"I-Impossible, you died!" Cecilia backed away as more of the wall crumbled at the top. She could hear the groans of the smaller titans outside the wall.

"Nah, I'm just bloody good at tricking you chumps. It's what happens when a titan's mind and a human's are mixed".

Two of the surviving soldiers advanced on Florence but she back-flipped over them and decapitated them both with her swords in one graceful move.

"Humans are so pathetic!" Florence laughed then held her sword to Cecilia's neck just as the Crimson Storm Titan began to reanimate, albeit at a slower pace as its controller had left.

"H-how... what..." Cecilia stumbled over her words and backed away slowly.

"Morgan thinks that I'm just another titan, that he could find me so easily. I've been watching the walls this whole time as a human".

"S-so you and that titan aren't one and the same but share some parts?"

"No shit, did you really have to ask that?"

"Cecilia!"

"What?" Cecilia looked past Florence.

"Cecilia!" Quinn screamed and landed on the wall beyond the breach. She retracted her grappling cables and sprinted along the walls.

"Ha! Too little too late!" Florence grinned then clicked her fingers.

The world shook.

Cecilia's instincts told her to get off of the wall.

Florence disappeared into the crimson mist.

And the wall exploded.

The Crimson Storm Titan had detonated its fist inside and obliterated the wall. The pressurized steam had forced the cracked wall apart and a breach perhaps thirty meters across opened up.

"This is it! Gahahah!" Florence laughed maniacally.

A giant figure leaped out of the artificial steam then grappled the face of the storm titan. It stabbed into its eyes and tore them out with its razor sharp fingers then slashed at its neck. The storm titan stepped back and crushed the smaller titans arounds its feet before they could enter the breach and a cannon shell struck it in the chest from over the hills. The storm titan grabbed Quinn and threw her into the wall before regaining its composure and healing its eyes.

"Quinn!" Cecilia gasped as she leaped back onto the wall with her swords at the ready.

Florence turned to Cecilia and readied her swords. "That's cute. You think you can handle me in a fight, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. Maybe".

"There will be no knight to save you this time".

Cecilia looked up to see Quinn dive onto the Crimson Storm Titan while stabbing it in a frenzy. It was too big and slow to counter so struck the sides of the breach in frustration as the lightning quick 13m class took its toll on the titan of titans.

"Keep at it Quinn, kick that big bastard's ass!" Cecilia shouted her petty words of encouragement over the roar of fighting.

"When I finish with you, that wannabe titan is gonna die like the little bitch she is", Florence grinned then spun her blades. "On guard".

Cecilia readied her swords and Florence slashed out. She barely blocked the first strike then ducked the second and backed away from the third. She was completely outclassed.

"Why are you attacking us?" Cecilia asked and pushed back with all her strength against the onslaught and almost landed a hit on Florence but she weaved out of the way in time.

"Ooh it's fun keeping things from you people, you get so pissy about it".

Florence glanced to the side to check the titan's fight. Quinn continued her evisceration of the Crimson Storm Titan. Cecilia took the initiative and aimed a well placed slash at Florence's head. Florence put her hand in the way and the sword wedged itself in her wrist and stopped. It drew blood then Florence yanked back and pulled the sword blade out of its socket then discarded it. Steam hissed from her wound and Florence grinned. "Sorry, not today".

Cecilia attempted to draw a new blade but Florence whacked the side of her neck with the blunt side of the sword and she fell to the side.

"I could've taken your head".

Cecilia looked up and spluttered. "Then why didn't you?"

"Good point".

"Don't just stand there. Finish it".

"In good time".

[#]

"Sir, it's been hours and we haven't seen any clouds or signs of the storm titan at all", Arthur said as he rode close to the lieutenant.

Morgan signaled for the soldiers to stop. "You're right, this is strange. I was sure we would find him". He looked back to the walls far off into the distance then opened his visor. "Wait, did any of you ever look back at all during this mission?"

Arthur and Kristoff looked at each other is confusion. "No, why?"

"Because he was behind us this whole time", Morgan said and pointed at the red clouds above the walls.

"Oh shit", Kristoff swore then turned his horse around.

"We return immediately. Areion, onward!" Morgan commanded then whipped the reigns of his steed.

"Sir, what do we do when we reach the walls?"

"I don't know. This time I really don't know".


	19. Attack on Closure

**Near Karanese District.**

Florence raised her sword and prepared to strike but stopped suddenly, her ear twitched under her red hair. She lowered the sword and turned around, looking in the direction of the Storm Titan and Quinn but beyond them.

"Hmm", she said quietly. "Perhaps a change of plan, I sense a bigger titan".

"W-what do you mean?" Cecilia asked as she backed away from Florence.

"The Colossal Titan has risen, somewhere over there", she replied then sheathed her blades. "Perhaps I should steal its body and become even more..."

Cecilia leaped forward and swung as hard as she could with her sword blades and hacked her way through half of Florence's neck. The red haired adversary screamed as blood splattered across the ground then she fell over, gurgling. "D-damn you!"

"No, damn you!" Cecilia screamed then began to hack at Florence's body. Her blades were drenched with blood but she carried on hacking, then when her swords became dull, she resorted to stamping on Florence out of hatred. Her boots soon became drenched as well and she stopped, huffing and catching her breath. She dropped her swords and stared at what she had just done. The mangled mess that was once Florence painted the stone around her.

"W-what did I do?" She stuttered then backed away but looked up suddenly to see the Crimson Storm Titan get bombarded with artillery fire. Quinn leaped back to the other side of the wall to avoid the cannon shells. They pattered against the colossus but then a massive shadow almost blotted out the sun for a brief second as a bombard shell whizzed through the air and collided with the top of the Crimson Storm Titan's head. The huge explosive detonated and blew the entire head and shoulders off of the titan. Smoke billowed out but it could not regenerate, it was dead. A piece of bomb shrapnel flew off and slashed Cecilia across the cheek and drew blood, she put a hand to her face but could barely feel it as she had gone numb.

"What's h-happening?" She asked in shock at the sudden turn of events.

The Crimson Storm Titan swayed from the impact then fell forwards into the breach, its massive form crashed down and hung over the remaining twenty meters of the wall, blocking access to the other titans. It billowed steam but Cecilia saw that instead of disintegrating, the colossus's skin and flesh began to harden and its form petrified itself into stone for it was once a wall titan.

"Cecilia?" Quinn called as she pulled herself out of the Caustic Titan's body. It too began to vent steam and slowly began to disintegrate. She almost fell out but righted herself at the last moment.

"I-I'm okay, what happened?" Cecilia replied and carefully stepped over Florence's body.

"An artillery strike downed the storm titan. It's blocked the wall and isn't evaporating for some reason. What about Florence?"

"I-I beat her when she was distracted", Cecilia explained half heartedly. She felt oddly horrible inside but she tried to push the thought away.

"What do we do now?"

[#]

Morgan, Arthur and Kristoff rode back to the gates of Karanese after noticing that the crimson steam had dispersed. They intended to go around the wall and then reach the location on the other side to avoid titans.

"Any idea what happened, sir?" Arthur asked as they trotted through the city.

"No idea, but if I were to guess, they beat the Crimson Storm Titan by themselves", Morgan replied.

"That's incredible!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"They were prepared for it, I'm sure they handled the situation well", Morgan said then whipped the reigns of Areion.

The squad reached the fort in the center of town to check with the Regimental Major for any news on the conflict. They entered the gates and dismounted their steeds and a field scribe rushed up to greet them then saluted.

"We're here to see the Major", Morgan informed the woman and removed his helmet.

"He's in his office, sir", she replied then offered to take the reigns of his horse. Morgan relinquished control then approached the main doors of the fort.

"Thank you", he said then went inside.

[#]

"The wall defense team ran into complications with the mission. The Crimson Storm Titan attacked un-expectantly before they could prepare themselves however due to good timing and, I'd say, damn fine luck, they managed to handle the situation and defeat both the titan and the one controlling it. Florence Bellerose is dead this time, her body did not disintegrate upon death so it's safe to assume she's gone for good. As for the massive breach in the wall, the collapsed body of the aberrant petrified upon death and so sealed the wall by itself. It's not however a suitable replacement but it will keep the smaller ones out for the time being", the Regimental Major explained. Morgan was sat on the chair before the officer's desk within his office.

Morgan thought about what had happened then felt relieved but irritated at the same time. "That sounds completely ridiculous, how did events go so smoothly despite the situation? I mean the friggin thing _fixed_ the wall for us! This doesn't make much sense to me".

"Well, they did. You'll be glad to know that both of your friends, Cecilia Mathias and Quinn Mason survived with minor injuries. I was informed that Florence Bellerose became distracted by the Colossal Titan further along the walls, she could sense it near Utgard Castle where the Survey Corps is currently handling the situation, that mistake cost her life. We lost good men today, Lieutenant".

"I understand, sir", Morgan replied then stood up to leave. "Thank you".

"One moment, St Clare. I received a letter for you from Lord Balto", the Major said before the Lieutenant could excuse himself.

"A letter?"

"Yes, well it's more of an order. You won't like it. The King has been pestered by Lord Balto for increased security within his home after the events in Stohess as he can't hire guards good enough. The fat bastard specifically asked for someone with titan slaying capabilities who won't damage his precious mansion with their wire grapples when they fly around. There's only one soldier who doesn't use 3DMG, and that's you", the Major explained.

"W-what?" Morgan said in confusion, he took the letter and read it.

"You're being reassigned to Stohess to be Lord Balto's personal assistant and guard".

"But I'm technically still a part of the private security firm, I don't..."

"The king has ordered it. You're ex-military who still has military ties. You were fighting in Trost were you not? You took part in Survey Corps expeditions, yes?"

"Well, yes, but my regiment isn't fully under my command yet. I'm not technically employed by the state yet either, everything I've done has been voluntary work".

"I'm sorry, but you're part of the military as far as the king is concerned and his word is final, you're going to Stohess", the Major said in a final tone.

Morgan let his final argument go then sighed. "Yes, sir".

"You leave immediately, pack your things".

"You mean to say I can't go and see Quinn and Cecilia before I leave? I just got back from trying to stop the Crimson Storm Titan. We still need to find out why Quinn can become a titan", Morgan said in protest. "I'm owed this if anything".

"Look, kid, I don't have any say in this and neither do you".

St Clare opened his mouth to speak but stopped and reconsidered. "Yes, sir. I will take my leave now, sir".

"Very good, good luck in Stohess".

"If you ever need my help, you know where to find me. King or not, if the world's in danger you can count on me to be there".

The Major nodded in appreciation then turned back to his book. St Clare left the room and entered the corridor of the top floor. He clunked across the wooden floor towards the staircase then checked his prosthetic arm to check its functionality and released some gas from the canister on his back to ensure it was working correctly, it was. Hanji's plans rarely had flaws.

"God damnit!" He cursed then smashed a marble bust of Lord Balto with his metal fist. "Oh, oops", he said quickly then looked around him, no one was present so he made his escape down the stairs.

[#]

Cecilia and Quinn sat in the medical bay of the fort in Karanese. The surgeon tended to the deep gash on Cecilia's cheek, she winced in pain as he applied an alcohol to it then padded it with soft cloth. "There, that should heal by itself within the month", the surgeon said. Cecilia smiled in appreciation but instantly regretted it as the sides of her mouth hit the cut. She hissed in pain. "Avoid hard to chew food if you can and unnecessary talking, other than that, you should be fine".

After their visit to the surgeon, Cecilia and Quinn went to their room to rest. They had been informed of Morgan's hasty departure earlier that day and were thoroughly pissed off about it.

"Why does he get called away now, of all times!" Quinn whined as she flumped onto her bed.

"Because Lord Balto is a coward and he cozied up to the king for his help. Hell, the king barely knows who Morgan is, he just asked Darius Zackly who was a good soldier. Seriously, the higher ups and the politicians don't even know who the soldiers are, even some of the famous ones. He wanted Levi Ackerman of all people to protect his bloody mansion, of course that was never going to work so they got Morgan instead", Cecilia explained then dumped her bag in the corner.

"What if we complain to Commander Erwin of the Survey Corps? He appreciates our help when we can offer it, surely he can put in a word saying he wants Morgan to help the Corps?" Quinn suggested.

"Eh, probably not. Besides, he's too busy", Cecilia replied then sat down.

"What about Commander Pixis? Our own commander should be able to call back one of his Lieutenants?"

"No, he's essentially been called for Royal Guard duty, there's no escaping that. If you're picked that's it, you don't get a choice. Just this time it's not for the king".

"Can my dad help? Baron Mason knows Lord Balto, surely he can help?"

"Probably not, your dad will want to maintain good relations with his second biggest trading partner".

"Stop destroying my hope!" Quinn gasped then rolled over on her bed.

"I can't help but be realistic", Cecilia replied.

[#]

A few days later, Morgan arrived at Stohess despite the situation in Karanese and with the Survey Corps. He would be isolated from the conflict and bloodshed here, a part of him was somewhat grateful, at least the food would be better, however the majority of him wanted to go back to the front lines and fight the titans again.

"Well, it could be worse, I guess", Morgan sighed then the great gates of Stohess creaked open for him and he made his way forward and into the city. At first glance, the destruction that Eren Jaeger and the Female Titan had caused was apparent and spread across the city at random intervals, he directed Areion around ruined houses and the construction teams that were busy working there. He glanced to his left and noticed a great tarp spread across the wall and he recognized it as where Hanji Zoe had covered the supposed 'Wall Titan'. He wondered what Hanji was up to and the same for Cecilia and Quinn. Eventually he reached the inner city, near to the back wall for it was the safest and cast his eyes upon a massive mansion that corresponded to the address he had been given. He trotted up the slight hill that it was built on then entered the courtyard, Areion clopping with every step on the stone bricks. He dismounted and looked around. A bell rang somewhere inside the mansion and the great front doors opened.

"You there, soldier boy!" Lord Balto called then plodded out of his home to greet his new guard. This surprised Morgan for he expected the lord to send a servant to meet him, he didn't expect the fat cat himself to do it.

"H-Hi?" Morgan responded, unsure of how to act in the lord's presence.

"Great timing, I had just finished my dinner!" Balto said while gnawing on a chicken leg. "My attendants shall take your horse to the stables and your bags to your room, now come, follow me, I'll show you around". The lord turned around and waddled back inside and left Morgan to follow him without a chance to respond.

Morgan blinked twice in astonishment then removed his helmet.

"Fuck me".

* * *

 **Note to readers:**

As some of you may know, AoT season Two is not too far off. While I own the next three books after the first season, I'd rather wait and see the anime route before continuing the story beyond them as that's where we're up to in chronological terms.

Twin Crimson Rose shall be left here, but fear not, the new story is about to begin as we have now finished the two story arcs of this fanfiction. The next story will be written with better detail, much like the professional work I do and will be of superior quality over all as it literally takes me two hours to write and edit a chapter, the new story will have far more time spent on it but will be released in greater intervals. When the anime drops, it may be a chapter a week as it was with AldnoahZero: Parthian Shot.

Expect it to be as if it is a completely new story with the characters being reintroduced, it's not a revamp but I'm writing it in a way that won't require people to have read the 19 chapters of Twin Crimson Rose as I want more new readers as well as the old faithful ones (That's you, Hillie) . The first chapter will be released within the month but after that you'll need to wait until AoT season Two. Look out for the first chapter of the new story and remember to follow and post reviews. Check the Attack on Titan section instead of Shingeki no Kyojin for the new story as it has fewer stories therefore meaning that it stays at the top for longer.

 _Attack on Titan: Crack in the Wall, coming soon..._


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